#Japan #Liberaware #Chiba City #KDDI Smart Drone #Obayashi

Innovating Construction with Drones

In an unprecedented move, Japan has successfully introduced drones equipped with automatic charging ports at a construction site for an entire year. This initiative, conducted by Liberaware, KDDI Smart Drone, and Obayashi Corporation, involved long-range remote surveying through level 3 beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations on the Joshinetsu Expressway construction project, specifically the Kitanomaki construction site.

Background of the Initiative

The Kitanomaki Tunnel project in Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture, has been addressing the critical safety concerns posed by approximately 95,000 cubic meters of rock remaining on a cliff 70 meters above the tunnel entrance. Since 2017, the East Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO East Japan) has been executing a carefully managed rock excavation project aimed at ensuring safety and enhancing the reliability of emergency transportation routes while keeping the highway operational. As of February 2023, significant excavation and transportation of the extracted materials are underway.

To effectively manage the excavation volume and ensure a foundational safety approach, the project adopted a novel solution. The conventional methods involved measuring the mass of excavated soil using truck scales, from which volume estimates were made. However, these traditional approaches require significant time and labor, making accurate progress management challenging. Given the rapidly evolving excavation surfaces, periodic topographic surveys were often impractical due to time and resource constraints.

In response to these challenges, the project employed drones with automatic charging capabilities, enabling quick, high-frequency recordings of the entire site to facilitate efficient progress management.

Overview of the Implementation

Obayashi Corporation leveraged the remote operation service provided by KDDI Smart Drone to deploy an automatically charged drone on the construction site. Weekly, the drone was remotely controlled from KDDI's office in Tokyo, executing automatic takeoffs and landings, recording extensive site footage, and transferring the imaging data to the cloud. Liberaware then processed this data into three-dimensional point clouds, allowing precise calculations of the excavation volumes and effective visualization of construction progress.

Achievements Made

1. Remote Surveying for Progress Visualization:
Traditionally, a two-person team required two full days to operate a drone and subsequently generate point cloud data and analyses. This project confirmed that the same results could be achieved in roughly 20 minutes of remote operations, with no human presence necessary on-site.

2. Successful Long-Term Operations:
Since starting in July 2024, the operation has achieved a remarkable feat by consistently conducting weekly remote surveys without any accidents. Ongoing communication via chat apps has allowed for real-time monitoring of safety conditions at the site due to weather and other operational factors.

3. Establishment of a Comprehensive Workflow:
The entire process, from drone imaging to cloud data transfer, three-dimensional model generation, and excavation volume calculation, has been automated. This seamless workflow permits high-precision progress management without the need for human supervision on-site.

Future Efforts

Building on the insights gained from this operation, Obayashi Corporation plans to expand this technology's applications to quality and progress management in various construction projects, including dam building. The collective aim is to enhance operational stability during nighttime and adverse weather conditions and to further implement automation technologies.

Together, the three companies are dedicated to contributing to the drone's integration as essential infrastructure, addressing challenges within the construction industry to foster a safer and more sustainable society.

Conclusion

This innovative approach signifies a monumental step forward in construction technology, highlighting how integrating automated drone capabilities can fundamentally transform project management and operational efficiency. As we look to the future, the insights gained from these initiatives will pave the way for increasingly sophisticated automation in the construction sector, significantly improving safety and productivity.