Joint delivery experiment conducted in Iwaizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture, aiming to build a new smart logistics system incorporating drones. ～Two companies with headquarters in Iwaizumi Town and the new Smart Logistics Team are working together to address regional issues～

Iwate Prefecture (Governor: Takuya Tasso), Iwaizumi Town (Mayor: Kenichi Nakai), Aeronext Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Keisuke Toji, hereinafter “Aeronext”), NEXT DELIVERY Inc. (Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Representative Director: Keisuke Toji; hereinafter “NEXT DELIVERY”), Seino Holdings Co., Ltd. (Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, President: Yoshitaka Taguchi, hereinafter “Seino HD”), Iwaizumi Holdings Co. (Head Office：Iwaizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture; President：Kinya Yamashita, hereinafter “Iwaizumi HD”), Iwaizumi Motor Transport Co. (Iwaizumi Town, Shimohei County, Iwate Prefecture, President: Yoichiro Yaegashi, hereinafter “Iwaizumi Motor Transport”) announced that on Thursday, January 9, 2025, a demonstration experiment was conducted in Iwaizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture, with the intent to build a new smart logistics system that will contribute to addressing regional issues in Iwaizumi Town in FY 2025.
NEXT DELIVERY, Iwaizumi Holdings, which has its headquarters in Iwaizumi Town, and Iwaizumi Motor Transport have been working together to explore the societal implementation of “SkyHub®”*2, a new smart logistics*1 that combines drone delivery and land transport, which is being developed by Seino HD and Aeronext.

【Demonstration Experiment Outline】

1. Purpose and Background
Iwaizumi Town has a total population of 8,013 (as of the end of January 2024) and an area of 99.23 hectares, making it the largest in terms of area of municipalities classified as a town in Honshu. The town is located in a narrow mountainous area, and its core district (the old village center before the merger of six towns and villages in June 1956) and small-scale communities are scattered throughout the narrow mountainous area. The percentage of the population with difficulty accessing food (as of 2015) is the only one in the prefecture to exceed 40%, which is a very high level compared to the national average of 24.6%.
Some key districts of Iwaizumi Town are separated by steep slopes from the town center. For example the Akka district (population 412 and 235 households) is 40 minutes away by car (21.5km), and the Ugei district (population 155 and 89 households) is 35 minutes away by car (18.4km) along narrow roads, making it difficult for residents to access everyday services such as food shopping.
Against this background, the parties will explore a hybrid transport system that combines land and air transport for shared delivery, measures to help people who have difficulty shopping, and the improvement of the productivity of Iwate Prefecture’s industries. The parties will conduct a demonstration experiment that will contribute to improving the understanding of local residents, with the aim of achieving a sustainable and vibrant region.

2. Details
The parties examined measures to ensure the convenience of daily life for people with limited mobility by using digital technology that included drones and shared delivery management systems, as well as initiatives that contribute to improving the productivity of Iwate Prefecture’s industries, among other considerations. The demonstration experiments were conducted with a view to build a system for implementing these measures in society and verifying the societal implementation of drone delivery, which will, in turn, lead to solutions for issues related to shopping and the transportation of goods in the event of a disaster.
Iwaizumi Holding’s Iwaizumi Yogurt, delivered to the former Akka Elementary school, and home delivery parcels (prepared for the demonstration experiment) from Iwaizumi Motor Transport were loaded onto the AirTruck*3, a logistics-dedicated drone developed by Aeronext and operated by NEXT DELIVERY. These were delivered to the Matsugasawa Community Center in about 10 minutes, covering a distance of about 4.2 km one way. Remaining parcels were delivered over land.

Mr.Nakayama, who received Iwaizumi Yogurt and Sake via drone delivery, commented, “During Typhoon No. 10 in 2,016, there were times when it was impossible to go to and from the city center for about half a month. I think this kind of service would be helpful.”

Going forward, we will continue to work towards the societal implementation of “SkyHub®”, a new smart logistics system that combines drone delivery with land-based delivery, using drones and other next-generation advanced technologies, as well as fostering understanding among residents while addressing regional issues.
※This demonstration experiment has been adopted as part of the “Operation System Development and Demonstration Experiment Work for the Social Implementation of Smart Logistics in Iwate Prefecture’s Mountainous Areas for FY2024”.

Reference

*1 New Smart Logistics
A public-private initiative to find solutions to the issues commonly faced by the logistics industry, such as labor shortages, environmental and energy issues, and DX areas, while utilizing digital and technology to ensure the future sustainability of logistics, which is an indispensable infrastructure for people’s daily lives. The project aims to realize the last mile joint delivery, the best mix of land and air transportation, freight and passenger consolidation, automated technology, etc., through co-creation based on an open public platform (O.P.P.) that transcends the boundaries between the industry and the outside world.

*2 New Logistics SkyHub®︎
A new smart logistics platform jointly developed and deployed by Aeronext and Seino HD that connects existing land transportation and drone logistics, as well as connecting ground and air infrastructure to deliver goods anytime, anywhere. An open and standardized platform with built-in drone delivery, operating from Drone Depots®︎ and using cars and drones as delivery vehicles, and SkyHub®︎ TMS as the base for SkyHub®︎ Delivery (shopping service), SkyHub®︎ Eats (food delivery), SkyHub®︎ Medical (pharmaceutical delivery), as well as joint delivery of packages from different logistics companies in bulk, to develop and provide services tailored to local issues and needs.
The introduction of SkyHub® not only has the logistics benefits of promoting unmanned and inventory-free operations and improving last mile delivery efficiency, but also introduces a new logistics infrastructure. Where the logistics industry facing the “2024 Logistics Problem,” SkyHub® will contribute to solving social issues in the region, such as transportation problems in specific depopulated areas, medical problems, disaster countermeasures, and measures for the vulnerable in logistics, SkyHub® will also contribute to address regional issues such as traffic problems in specific depopulated areas, medical problems, disaster countermeasures, and measures for the vulnerable in logistics, as well as raise the level of satisfaction of residents and communities by improving convenience and quality of life.

*3 Dedicated Logistics Drone AirTruck
AirTruck, the first mass-produced logistics drone developed in Japan by Aeronext, a next-generation drone technology startup, in collaboration with ACSL, achieves stable flight with Aeronext’s proprietary 4D GRAVITY®*4 airframe structure design technology. AirTruck is a dedicated logistics drone that goes “faster, farther, and is more stable” with enhanced logistics, specialized for forward motion, and aerodynamic characteristics required for long-distance flight. AirTruck has flown in demonstration tests in various regions of Japan and has a top-class flight record in Japan and internationally it has flown in Mongolia at an altitude of 1,300m and an outside temperature of -15°C (November 2023).

*4 Airframe structural design technology 4D GRAVITY®
Airframe structure design technology developed by Aeronext optimizes aerodynamic characteristics by equalizing motor speed regardless of attitude, condition, or movement during flight and controlling lift, drag, and fuselage center of gravity based on fuselage shape and structure to improve the basic performance of industrial drones, such as stability, efficiency, and mobility, and the transportation performance of drones dedicated to logistics. Aeronext has patented this technology and manages it as part of the 4D GRAVITY® patent portfolio. 4D GRAVITY® improves basic performance and opens up new markets and applications for industrial drones.

【About Iwate Prefecture】
Iwate Prefecture, with a population of 1,144,407 (as of October 1, 2024), is located in the northeastern part of Honshu, and has a long oval shape from north to south, measuring approximately 122 km east to west and 189 km north to south. It is the second largest prefecture in Japan after Hokkaido, with an area of 15,275.01㎢, accounting for 4% of the total area of Japan.
In addition to its magnificent nature surrounded by the sea and mountains, and the historical and cultural attractions represented by the three World Heritage Sites of Hiraizumi, Hashino Iron Mine, and Goshono Ruins, the prefecture has a diverse and appealing food culture, blessed with delicacies from the mountains and the sea.
Having overcome natural disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and Typhoon No. 10 in 2016, we are making steady progress in reconstruction. We are pursuing the initiatives set forth in the “Iwate Prefectural Citizens’ Plan (2019-2028),” aiming to realize “Iwate, a rare and wonderful place where people mutually protect and nurture each other’s happiness.”

【About Iwaizumi Town】
Located northeast of Morioka City, the capital of Iwate Prefecture, the town consists of a mountainous area surrounded by lush green mountains and a coastal area facing the beautiful sea, and is the largest town by area in Honshu.
The town is rich in water and greenery, with one of the three largest limestone caves in Japan, Ryusendo-do Cave, and its underground lake boasting some of the clearest water in the world, and the cleanest air produced by the forests that cover approximately 92% of the total area of the town.
Having suffered two major natural disasters, the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and Typhoon No. 10 torrential rain disaster in 2016, the town has had to rethink its vision of the future that it had envisioned, but it is also a town where the residents are working together to make progress toward restoration and recovery.
*For more information: https://www.town.iwaizumi.lg.jp/top.html

【About Aeronext Inc.】
Aeronext is a research and development technology startup that has a vision of “new economization of airspace.” Aeronext develops and patents industrial drone technologies and conducts licensing in order to create a world where the sky becomes societal infrastructure and economized, and social issues are resolved with drones. Our core technology is 4D GRAVITY®︎, a unique structural design technology that improves basic drone performance such as stability, efficiency, and mobility of industrial drones by optimizing the center of gravity of the aircraft. In order implement this 4D GRAVITY®︎ as standard equipment on industrial drones, we have constructed a strong patent portfolio and are promoting a partnership-based platform business for the 4D GRAVITY®︎ license globally.
Aeronext has also founded NEXT DELIVERY, to enable new smart logistics SkyHub®︎ utilizing drones and are proactively working on the societal implementation of drone delivery services and commercialization of those services.
*For more information: https://aeronext.com/about/company/

【About NEXT DELIVERY】
A strategic subsidiary of Aeronext, whose main business is drone delivery, established in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture in 2021 based on the Aeronext Group’s mission, “A new societal infrastructure for the 100-year life era, a world where enrichment is spread to every corner of the world.” Aeronext and Seino HD jointly develop and deploy SkyHub®, a new smart logistics system that connects existing logistics and drone logistics to create a new societal infrastructure. We are also developing related businesses such as development, sales, operation, and maintenance of both hardware and software related to integrated delivery and drone delivery. Starting with Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, we are working to improve the efficiency of regional logistics and address regional issues throughout Japan, including Kamishihoro Town, Hokkaido, and Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture.
*For more information: https://aeronext.com/about/company/

【About Seino Holdings Co., Ltd.】
With logistics as its central axis, Seino HD also provides one-stop value in areas peripheral to logistics, such as finance, human resources, and procurement. We aim to be a corporate group that connects hearts and minds beyond logistics to contribute to the prosperity of our customers and bring smiles and happiness to all.
Under the slogan of “Team Green Logistics,” we are currently working to develop an open public platform (O.P.P.) that transcends industry and corporate boundaries as an overall strategy to solve social issues facing Japan, such as the declining birthrate, aging population, and environmental problems, and to take on the challenge of co-creating “green logistics” that will optimize a sustainable logistics network. In the last mile area, we are actively building a “last mile O.P.P. that solves social issues” as a countermeasure for vulnerable shoppers and poor families, in line with the changing lifestyles and structures of society as a whole.
*Open Public Platform (O.P.P.)
Our concept is to build a logistics platform that is open and accessible to all, regardless of industry or location, to improve the efficiency and value to each user, and to contribute to industry, the environment, and people’s lives as an infrastructure.
*For more information: https://www.seino.co.jp/seino/shd/overall-condition/

【About Iwaizumi Holdings Co.】
“We strive to continue to be pioneers in order to deliver the appeal of Iwaizumi to the world.”
Iwaizumi Holdings is a third-sector company that was established in 2019 through the merger of Iwaizumi Holdings, Iwaizumi Dairy, and Iwaizumi Industrial Development.
The company develops products that make use of local resources such as raw milk and water produced in the rich natural environment of Iwaizumi Town, such as Iwaizumi Yogurt, Ryusendo Water, Ryusendo Skin Care Series, and Italian Gelato Cafe ViTO×IWAIZUMI, through which we promote the region nationwide.
*For more information: https://company.iwaizumilk.co.jp/

【About Iwaizumi Motor Transport Co.】
Iwaizumi Motor Transport Co., Ltd. has been operating in a wide range of fields since its establishment in 1940, including general cargo transport, special cargo transport, postal transport, bus and taxi services, based in Iwaizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture. At the time of its founding, the company was one of the first in the prefecture to introduce trucks, and it has provided community-based transport services by revolutionizing transport from cattle to trucks. The act of transporting a single item or a single customer may be what we do, but within those acts, the thoughts of countless people are encapsulated. We believe that small acts in everyday life accumulate and create great value. Under the philosophy of “a single light illuminating a corner”, we believe that the efforts of each and every one of us have great significance for society, just as a small light becomes a great light when combined with others..
*For more information: https://www.senkin-144.jp/pages/65/

*Aeronext, the Aeronext logo, and NEXT DELIVERY, as well as “4D GRAVITY®︎” “SkyHub®“ are trademarks of Aeronext Inc.
*Other company names and product/service names mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.