DJI has already accounted for over 80% of the global drone market, and many overseas companies also want to get a share of the pie. Japanese industrial drone developer ACSL announced that it has begun accepting orders for the small aerial photography drone “SOTEN”, which is Japan’s first domestic drone.
This drone was developed by ACSL on the basis of the research and development results of the “Safe and Reliable UAV Basic Technology Development” project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan.
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Moreover, the first feature of SOTEN UAVs is “the use of safety UAV protection technology made in Japan”, based on the international standard ISO 15408 for safety products, to prevent data leakage and extraction, and to prevent the hijacking of UAVs. The system also has the function of encrypting and communicating the photographic data and flight path data obtained by the drone.
Therefore, the data collected through communication can also be protected by integrating into the domestic cloud in Japan. In addition, by using highly reliable products produced in Japan or purchased from overseas as the main components of the aircraft, the company has established a production system that can safely provide drones that are expected to play a role in supporting social infrastructure.
Furthermore, SOTEN UAV also uses a one-button camera switching system. In addition to standard cameras, infrared cameras + visible light cameras, multi-spectral cameras and optical zoom cameras (under development) can also be installed.
The camera has a maximum speed of 15 meters per second and is also equipped with SLAS / SBAS (Sub-meter positioning enhancement service of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System MICHIBIKI), which can perform highly accurate positioning in Japan when accurate position information is required, Such as disaster investigation, can take off and land safely.
LTE communication allows drones to be controlled via the Internet. The drone can fly autonomously in remote areas, such as mountainous areas and factories. By using offline maps, even in an environment where there is no Internet, the drone can fly automatically by displaying the offline map on the control terminal base station application.
The size of the drone is 637 x 560 mm when unfolded, 162 x 363 mm when retracted, and weighs 1.7 kg (including standard camera and battery). The maximum flight time using standard batteries is 22 minutes (using standard cameras, at a wind speed of 8 m/s).
In recent years, the United States and other countries have been banning or restricting the use of drones developed by Chinese drone manufacturer DJI and other companies on the grounds of security risks. The Japanese government also announced in September 2020 that it will only purchase drones with safety guarantees and will quickly replace drones that are already in use.
