These drones have been pre-loaded with packages, where they make their flight between condominiums, commercial facilities as well as adjacent parks. This is a joint project that sees the involvement of the central government, the city of Chiba, research institutions and companies such as e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc., and the city of Chiba happens to have been designated as a special deregulation zone in order for such trials to run.
Future trials will include having the drones pick up packages from a warehouse that is currently beside Tokyo Bay, making their way to Chiba’s Mihama Ward that is approximately 10km away. While it will be some time before drone deliveries end up as commonplace, it would be best to test such delivery systems out as much as possible before implementation.