Nippon Express subsidiary Cargo-Partner conducted a drone flight demonstration at its warehouse in Fischamend, Austria, last month in collaboration with Japanese start-up Spiral.

Spiral is developing an autonomous indoor-specific drone flight system called MarkFlex Air that will allow drones to fly autonomously in GPS-denied indoor environments such as tunnels, dams and sewer systems.

The company plans to bring this innovation to the European infrastructure industry by opening an office in Vienna, Austria, home to some of the world’s leading construction companies and universities with expertise in civil engineering.

Nippon Express (NX) recently built a drone demo flight environment in collaboration with Cargo-Partner and conducted a demonstration of the MarkFlex Air accurately and autonomously flying specified routes within a warehouse. The group plans to use the knowledge gained from the demonstration flights to automate and improve the efficiency of logistics sites by incorporating drone technology.

“MarkFlex Air is a technology that will revolutionise the infrastructure inspection process, making it safer and more efficient,” said a Spiral spokesperson. “We look forward to contributing to the sustainability of Europe’s social infrastructure.”

A representative from Cargo-Partner (www.cargo-partner.com) added: “This demonstration is a wonderful initiative for Cargo-Partner and the rest of the NX group as well as Spiral. We are proud to contribute to innovation and sustainability.”

The NX group (www.nipponexpress.com) says it will continue tackling social issues through business co-creation with start-up companies in Japan and overseas, and helping realise sustainable societies where all people can lead affluent and fulfilling lives.

MarkFlex Air is a system that enables autonomous drone flight by using markers indoors and in other environments where radio waves cannot reach; Spiral (spiral-robotics.com) has obtained patents for the control unit and markers.