Promoting R&D through Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration to Realize Drone Utilization in Firefighting Activities

Morita Holdings Corporation (Headquarters: Osaka; President: Masayoshi Kato), following its selection for the 'FY2025 Fire and Disaster Science and Technology Research Promotion Program' by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, has collaborated with Morita Corporation (Headquarters: Hyogo; President: Mamoru Shirokamoto), the Osaka Municipal Fire Department, the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), and the Toyohashi University of Technology to carry out research and development for FY2025, achieving significant results and insights. Based on these findings, the project has also been selected for the 'FY2026 Fire and Disaster Science and Technology Research Promotion Program,' and R&D activities are continuing.

This research is driven by challenges faced during firefighting operations in flood-prone areas under tsunami warnings, as highlighted by the large-scale fires in Wajima City following the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The project aims to build means to continue firefighting operations safely, even in areas where firefighting personnel have difficulty accessing, such as large-scale fire sites following earthquakes or tsunamis.

1. First-Year Results This research aims to construct methods (tactics) for utilizing drones in firefighting activities by combining existing drone bodies with firefighting vehicles and various equipment deployed by fire departments. In the first year, leveraging the company's fire extinguishing and water discharge technologies, the research verified technical requirements such as weight, reaction force, and communications necessary for drone-based water discharge activities.

Furthermore, the team conducted flight and water discharge experiments using drones owned by Exedy Corporation (Headquarters: Osaka; President: Tetsuya Yoshinaga), evaluating flight stability and aircraft behavior during water discharge under conditions simulating fire sites. As a result, the team confirmed the possibility of stable water discharge activities and verified that the company's Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS) technology could be highly effective in drone-based firefighting.

*CAFS (Compressed Air Foam Systems): A system that generates foam by adding a small amount of fire extinguishing agent to water and injecting compressed air. It increases the surface area of water to extinguish fires efficiently.

2. Future Developments Based on the verification results from the first year, the project will move into a phase focused on practical application for FY2026. Centered on the accumulated fire-extinguishing and water-discharge technologies, the team will derive optimal conditions to establish concrete firefighting tactics that realize rapid and safe operations at disaster sites.

3. Research Content R&D based on the Fire and Disaster Management Agency's 'Fire and Disaster Science and Technology Research Promotion Program' (FY2025-FY2026). Research Topic: Research and development of methods for utilizing fire-extinguishing drones in combination with vehicles and equipment deployed by fire departments. Research Structure Research Representative: Morita Holdings Corporation Research Collaborators: Morita Corporation, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Toyohashi University of Technology Research Supporter: Osaka Municipal Fire Department