Preface
In the Asia-Pacific region, the threat of natural disasters never stops. Countries located in the Circum-Pacific seismic zone are constantly exposed to hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Consequently, these countries must have well-established prevention and mitigation measures in place and should never overlook the importance of maintaining infrastructure and preparing transportation alternatives. In addition to the challenges of the natural environment, many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are also facing pressures from aging populations, low birthrates, and growing labor shortages. In this context, how to strengthen the resilience of transportation facilities and transport supply has become a forward-looking issue that needs to be addressed.
Taiwan and Japan are Prone to Earthquakes All Year Round, and There Is an Urgent Need to Strengthen the Resilience of Transport Support
In Taiwan, the unique geographical environment of the country presents many challenges for transport. The mountainous terrain, especially in remote areas, makes roads vulnerable to natural disasters such as windstorms, landslides, and earthquakes. The 7.2-magnitude strong earthquake that struck Hualien in April 2024 caused the collapse of houses and damage to connecting roads and bridges. The breakage of the Chingshui Bridge, in particular, disrupted land transportation and cut off eastern Taiwan. Air and sea freights became the lifeline for delivering essential supplies and transport. Extra aircrafts and ships were operated to evacuate stranded people in Tienhsiang. For outlying islands, such as Little Liuqiu, Green Island, Orchid Island and Penghu Islands, daily supplies rely on regular boat trips. In the event of an emergency, supplies can only be provided through expensive air transport.
Japan also faces similar challenges. Many towns, scenic spots and power facilities are located in mountainous areas, and can only rely on roads with limited transportation capacity to connect with neighboring cities. In January 2024, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake caused damage to residential buildings, interruption of roads and collapse of houses. This posed challenges in resuming water supply and drainage facilities as well as repairing roads. The serious decay of the infrastructure and lackof manpower have delayed the progress of post-disaster recovery. Therefore, Japan has recently begun to introduce drones in transportation infrastructure maintenance to ensure the condition and service life of facilities, assist in high-altitude operations, and reduce inspection costs.
Key Application for Drones: Transportation Infrastructure Maintenance and Transport Supply
Many countries have focused on the development of drones and proposed a series of potential solutions in response to various environments. From high-altitude inspections to post-disaster relief, drones can solve the manpower shortage andimmediately become part of an emergency response system. They can also be used for routine infrastructure health checks to improve facility durability. These innovative applications optimize the efficiency of transportation infrastructure maintenance and enhance the resilience and reliability of transportation systems.
Case 1: Japan Introduces Drones to Accelerate Bridge Inspections and Deliver Supplies to Remote Areas and Elderly People
Drone applications bring new solutions to current challenges. Japan, for example, employs drones extensively in transportation infrastructure maintenance. Since 2020, drone technology has been applied to bridge inspection. By developing inspection models and analyzing data,the health and durability of facilities can be assessed and predicted. This solves the safety and traffic issues that have previously affected bridge operations.
Drones are also widely used in logistics and transportation. Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released the third edition of its guidelines for drone application in logistics and transportation in 2022, introducing many successful cases. For example, in the mountainous area of Kitsuki City, Oita Prefecture, drones provide local residents with aerial delivery of purchases and medical supplies, solving the problem of insufficient public transportation capacity caused by a declining and aging population. In Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, drones help senior citizens meet their daily shopping needs and improve their quality of life.
Case 2: Taiwan Uses Drones to Inspect Bridges, and the Demonstration Project Shows Significant Results
Taiwan used to employ manual visual inspections for bridge inspection. Since 2018, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has included unmanned vehicles in the bridge inspection plan. In 2023, it has formulated development goals such as automatic flight routes and AI image recognition, and plans to build 3D models for bridges to improve inspection efficiency and accuracy.
To meet the transportation needs in remote rural areas and outlying islands, Taiwan has started testing the feasibility of drone delivery of goods since 2019. In the transportation of snake venom serum in Alishan Township and cross-sea logistics in Little Liuqiu, drones have demonstrated their ability to shorten transport time and improve delivery efficiency.
In 2022, the MOTC launched the Drone Integration Demonstration Project to simulate a natural disaster in Jianshih Township, Hsinchu County and test the use of drones for material supply in the event of a disruption of connecting roads. It was found that a commercial smart drone developed by CoretronicIntelligent Robotics Corporation (CIRC) could travel 21.2 km from Jianshih Township Office to Smangus,with an altitude difference of 1,580 m and the flight time of only 45 minutes. The success in long-distance emergency transport supply fulfills the supply needs of residents in remote areas.
Figure X.CoretronicIntelligent Robotics Corporation’s drone in the Jianshih logistics demonstration project
Expanding Drone Application Scenarios andthe Development of Medium and Large UAVs
Although most urban cities and towns in Taiwan have convenient transportation networks, there are still many potential problems in infrastructure maintenance, and the quality of communications is still challenged. To this end, ITRI has developed a high-payload, long-range hybrid-power drone which can be used for cargo transportation, disaster relief, spraying pesticides, cleaning power tower insulators, and many more. ITRI once operated a large drone to conduct demonstration flights for agricultural product delivery in Pingtung. In addition, ITRI has developed a fuel celland hydrogen storage module that can be mounted on a drone. The energy density of the battery is three times that of conventional lithium batteries, which can help increase the inspection duration and the delivery service range.
As drones become more integrated into infrastructure maintenance and logistics, they prove to be effective in controlling cost control and have demonstrated their competitive advantages in various challenging environments. The applications and benefits of drone services in infrastructure maintenance and transport supply vary with different environments. To foster sustainable development, countries need to continue testing and validation of drone services and gradually establish commercial models.
Conclusion
Drones offer an extraordinary solution to Taiwan’s transportation infrastructure maintenance and transport supply. In terms of technology research and development, application environment, and regulatory adjustment, we need to continue to keep pace with the international communities.
First, technology-wise, apart fromimproving endurance and payload capacity, it is also necessary to optimize the airframe design and control algorithm, and enhance the wind resistance level to maintain flight stability and controllability in bad weather. Autonomous flight and AI imaging technology upgrades to save inspection and data processing time are also the future direction of development.
Secondly, in terms of application environment, communication bases should be added in remote areas to ensure stable signal transmission quality and charging stations should be set up to prolong the operating time and service life of drones.
Finally, it is about regulations. Not only do we need toimprove flight regulations, but we also need to digitalize the flight application processto encourage the use of drones while ensuring the protection of public privacy and flight safety.
