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Kyodo

Schools offering lessons in piloting drones are increasing in Japan as more seasoned operators are needed for industrial purposes such as logistics as well as disaster response.
While simply flying a drone is not a complicated process, operating them for surveying or disaster sites requires certain techniques.
In March, the drone pilot school in the city of Kai, Yamanashi Prefecture, operated by the Japan Aviation Academy, lowered the eligibility for entrance from age 20 to 16.

In addition to practical coaching, students at the school can learn about civil aviation and radio laws, as well as understanding sudden weather changes from the movement of clouds and wind direction.
“The lessons are practical and I am learning a lot. I hope to use the skills for disaster prevention and helping people,” said Tsurugi Hatano, a 16-year-old high school student in the city of Tsuru, Yamanashi.
Since the end of May, more than 100 such schools have been operating in Japan, according to the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association and the Drone Pilot Association.

Many drones used for surveying are equipped with global positioning systems and their propellers are usually automatically adjusted. But for their stable flight even in times of system failures, certain operational techniques are necessary to prevent them from being swept away by strong winds.
In June, the Yamanashi Survey and Planning Association began sending employees of its member companies to the drone pilot school to improve their skills.
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“A drone allows us to survey an object by approaching it and this is expected to enhance our work efficiency,” an association official said.
Drones could be effective in search efforts for missing persons in mountains or disaster sites.
The fire service of Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture has introduced a drone with thermography and educated its staff about drone operation by engaging an external instructor.

The department says it plans to increase the number of drones and pilots.
Tomoyuki Kumada, secretary general of the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association, said the use of drones in the industrial field has just begun.
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“There is an urgent need to train pilots who can calmly respond to situations even when drones fly away to an unexpected direction because of technical problems,” Kumada said.


Japan expands drone classes to create skilled pilot pool

A drone used by an architectural office to capture images of the rooftop and walls of a turret at Osaka Castle, with the aim of offering renovation services for cultural assets. Photo: Kyodo

People look on during a drone safety and awareness demonstration on June 22, 2017, in regards to humanitarian drone corridor testing under the UNICEF-funded Humanitarian Drone Corridor testing project, in the hard-to-reach rural Chanthunthu Village Health Clinic in Kasungu. The government of Malawi, with assistance from UNICEF, is pilot testing the use of drones for humanitarian purposes in Kasungu District to see how the drones can be used for transporting blood and mucus samples for TB and HIV tests from hard to reach health centres and village clinic to central laboratories in the country to big hospitals where they will be quickly tested and returned to the rural health facilities. The drones will also be used for imaging in disaster areas, which are impassable to humans, to determine the extent of damage by floods and how victims can be assisted, as well as boosting telephone and internet network connectivity. / AFP PHOTO / Amos Gumulira

A firefighters drone is pictured during a drone workshop in Berlin, Germany June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

(170624) -- NAGQU, June 24, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Li Xinhai (C), a scientist of the Institute of Zoology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, operates a drone to study the distribution of animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, June 23, 2017. Scientists conducted a comprehensive scientific expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.  (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) (ry)

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