World Dec 22, 2016

Drones from U.S. disappoint Ukraine at the front lines

Millions of dollars' worth of U.S.-supplied drones that Kiev had hoped would help in its war against Russian-backed separatists have proven ineffective against jamming and hacking, Ukrainian officials say. The 72 Raven RQ-11B Analog mini-drones were so disappointing following their arrival this summer that Natan ...

Aerial photos capture dark side of solar power plants

National Dec 9, 2016

Aerial photos capture dark side of solar power plants

by Tomoko Otake

Koichiro Otaki started taking aerial pictures of photovoltaic power stations in April 2015. At first, it was an innocent desire to capture their sheer scale and aesthetic value that motivated him, he says. Solar parks, mostly in rural, desolate areas, were also among the few ...

Drone crashes into World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle

National Nov 17, 2016

Drone crashes into World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle

A drone crashed into World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle on Thursday following a similar incident last year, local government officials said. The small drone hit two parts of the main Daitenshu donjon and fell to the ground at around 12:45 p.m. Two groups of people preparing ...

Chiba drone alliance pushes for delivery service by 2019

Business | FOCUS Oct 7, 2016

Chiba drone alliance pushes for delivery service by 2019

A city near Tokyo has joined hands with the central government and other partners to commercialize a drone-based delivery service it calls "the first step of an industrial revolution in the air." "We want to get a head start in the building of a future-oriented ...

Abe wants to raise construction site productivity with drones, AI

Business Sep 12, 2016

Abe wants to raise construction site productivity with drones, AI

The government unveiled has unveiled a campaign to raise productivity at construction sites by 20 percent by 2025 through the use of drones and artificial intelligence. At an inaugural meeting of officials and private-sector experts tasked with formulating new growth strategy policies, Prime Minister Shinzo ...

Business / Corporate Sep 5, 2016

Toshiba, Canon to start commercial drone services

Toshiba Corp. and Canon Inc. are starting separate drone-based services for corporate clients. Toshiba said Monday it will partner with auto parts manufacturer Alpine Electronics Inc. to commercialize a system by March 2018 to inspect remote infrastructure such as power cables and steel towers. Their service ...