JR East Holds Drone Operation Championship
The drones in the races are of the same model used to search inside a sewage pipe when a road collapsed in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture. Produced domestically, the drones measure about 20 square centimeters and are particularly useful in narrow and small spaces.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerA participant remotely operates drones during the inter-company tournament on the second day.The specially prepared racecourse was a circuit of about 50 meters. Participants navigated drones remotely by hand, relying only on images sent from the drones to clear the tricky challenging sections modeled after train station facilities, such as attics, underfloor spaces and platforms, before crossing the finishing line at a real automatic ticket gate. The win was not counted unless the drone tapped the automatic ticket gate with a Suica IC travel card attached to its body.
The competition was a single-elimination tournament. Each team of three took turns racing the course, with total team time as the deciding factor for the winner. If the drone's camera successfully read a two-dimensional code on the course, it was given credit for a certain amount of time.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerMembers of the KDDI Smart Drone team rejoice as they become the first champions of the inter-company tournament.
The first champion of the inter-department tournament on June 7 was E-Wings, an electrical facility management department team; for the inter-company tournament on June 8, the winner was KDDI Smart Drone.
'Drones will greatly change how we conduct facility maintenance. We will continue holding this event at this station, which was constructed with a 100-year vision,' JR East President Yoichi Kise said at the award ceremony on June 8.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerMembers of the E-Wings delight in becoming the first champions of the interdepartment tournament on the first day of the championship.
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