New R&D Drone Facility in Tokyo to Change Logistics; MFLP/LOGIFRONT Tokyo Itabashi Aims to Solve

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By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer

16:53 JST, November 17, 2024

A gigantic logistics facility housing a research and development center for next-generation drone technology is now open in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo. The facility’s completion ceremony was on Oct. 2.

MFLP/LOGIFRONT Tokyo Itabashi was jointly developed by Mitsui Fudosan Co. and Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co. on the site where a Nippon Steel Corp. factory once stood. The six-story, seismically isolated building boasts a total floor space of 256,000 square meters — the largest in Tokyo. The building is reportedly almost fully leased, with Yamato Transport Co. among others having moved in.

The facility is a 10-minute walk from a Toei Subway station and about three kilometers, or a 10-minute drive, from a Metropolitan Expressway entrance.

The most notable feature of the facility is the Itabashi Drone Field, a site for research and development. As a rare permanent drone test site in Tokyo’s 23 wards, the environment of a spacious site by a river combined with the capital’s largest logistics facility allows for various experiments and research to be carried out. Last-mile drone deliveries to the upper floors of high-rise apartments, joint transport with unmanned vehicles and using ports where drones take off and land automatically are among the tests that can be conducted on the field.

The drone facility is managed and operated by the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA), a general incorporated association that works on the industrial promotion of next-generation mobile systems, and Blue innovation Co., a leading company in the drone industry.

By creating a cooperation system with various companies and organizations, they aim to solve social issues such as labor shortages due to the so-called 2024 logistics problem and natural disaster response through experiments and research.

The facility opened to nearby residents on Oct. 26. The drone pilot workshop was particularly popular among visitors. Many people queued up to participate and had fun using the drones to pick up snacks.

“I play a lot with a mini drone at home, but here I got to [use a drone to] pick up sweets, and it was so much fun. I want to try it again,” said a 7-year-old boy who walked from a nearby apartment with his father to visit the facility.

The father, a company employee in his 40s, said, “Since this is a logistics facility, I’m a little worried as the truck traffic may increase, but I’m looking forward to things like drone delivery experiments.”

The facility also houses the Itabashi Ward disaster delivery station, which serves as a hub for delivering goods to evacuation centers in the event of a disaster, and a green space is also available for the local community.