일 택배업체 야마토, "장거리 화물 운반 무인기 美 기업과 개발" Flying 'truck' for long-distance deliveries in the works at Yamato
Flying 'truck' for long-distance deliveries in the works at Yamato
Japanese shipper and US partner aim for commercialization by mid-2020s
SHIHO MIYAJIMA, Nikkei staff writer
October 12, 2018
TOKYO -- Japan's Yamato Holdings and Bell Helicopter Textron of the U.S. have agreed to jointly develop an unmanned flying "truck" as the logistics industry turns to technology to overcome a shortage of workers.
The flying truck's cargo container will be easily transferable to other vehicles. (Rendering courtesy of Bell Helicopter Textron)
일 택배업체 야마토, "장거리 화물 운반 무인기 美 기업과 개발" 자동운전 진화시킨 '하늘 나는 트럭 2020년대 중반 실용화 목표 일본의 야마토홀딩스와 미국의 벨헬리콥터 텍스론은 물류 산업의 인력 부족을 극복하기 위해 무인 비행 트럭을 공동으로 개발하기로 합의했다. 벨은 몸체를 야마토는 화물용 컨테이너를 제작한다. 이 날으는 화물트럭은 수직으로 지정된 높이까지 상승한 다음 수평으로 이동하며 최대 450kg을 시속 약 160km로 운반하게 된다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Cheol Hwang, conpaper editor, curator |
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Bell will build the body while Yamato will create the container for cargo. The craft will ascend vertically to a designated height and then travel horizontally, carrying up to 450 kg at roughly 160 kph.
Yamato envisions the flying truck being used for medium-to-long-distance cargo shipments, rather than small home deliveries. The cargo container will be designed so that it can be smoothly loaded onto trucks and other vehicles. The companies will test-fly a roughly 1.5-meter-long prototype carrying about 30 kg by August 2019.
This image shows an unmanned cargo aircraft to be jointly developed by Japan's Yamato Holdings Co. and Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of the United States./mainichi.jp
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The short-handed logistics industry in Japan is raising prices for home deliveries and shifting shipments from trucks to boats or rail. Yamato is hurrying to develop next-generation delivery methods that can alleviate obstacles such as aging drivers, issues that are expected to grow worse down the road.
Commercializing the technology will require measures to ensure safety, reduce noise and prevent accidents like collisions. Japan's economy and transportation ministries began to debate rules for flying cars at a public-private panel in August that touched on logistics uses. A road map will be compiled as early as this year, with an eye toward commercialization by the middle of the next decade.
Companies like U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies and European airplane maker Airbus are also competing to develop flying cars.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Flying-truck-for-long-distance-deliveries-in-the-works-at-Yamato
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