Japan develops unmanned helicopter for use in agricultural industry

Yamaha Motor has decided to design an unmanned helicopter 'Fazer' in Japan's Shizuoka city mainly for use in the agricultural industry.

The helicopter will be used to prevent pine trees from dying in Miho-no-Matsubara area of Japan.

The unmanned helicopter will be used to spray pesticides in Miho-no-Matsubara.

"This is equipped with maximum 24 liters of pesticides, which covers 0.8 hectares and completes within 10 minutes. The unmanned helicopter works effectively and efficiently. It does not spread pesticides outside the targeted area," said Kazuyuki Kawashima of Shizuoka Skytech Co. Ltd.

The test for pesticide spraying conducted last year proved that it has succeeded in reducing the number of pine trees that needed to be cut down to a quarter compared to the previous year.

"We are conducting feasibility test in Thailand. We are now planning to utilize for the paddy rice seeding and sugarcane plantation," said Yoshihiro Hase of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

When these cases attract people's attention, the new field of unmanned helicopter will establish an active market in the near future.

" We want to provide new solutions for the people in the field. We are planning to utilize this for the rescue activities during disasters in mountain areas, and use in agriculture at the same time," said

Toshio Mizoguchi of Shizuoka Skytech Co. Ltd.

The pine trees in the area started dying because of the pine wilt disease, spreading from the import of lumber trees.

"There are 30,000 pine trees, but 700 trees are dying every year due to the influence of the pine wilt disease. The infected pine trees need to be cut down and fumigated," added Mizoguchi.

The Miho-no-Matsubara is a seven-kilometer seashore area lined with pine trees along the coast of Miho Peninsula in Japan.

In 2013, the pine groves were added to the UNESCO's World Heritage List as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site.