Aerodyne Japan in partnership to develop Level 4 drone autonomy infrastructure for ASEAN

• Japanese based ACSL’s industrial drones to undergo tests in Cyberjaya, Malaysia
• Partnership will push boundaries for commercial drone applications in ASEAN

Aerodyne Japan, a subsidiary of Malaysia-headquartered global DT³ (Drone Tech, Data Tech, and Digital Transformation) solutions provider Aerodyne Group, and Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory (ACSL), a Tokyo-based leading manufacturer of autonomous industrial drones, are joining forces to break new ground in Level 4 (high) automation testing of commercial drones in the ASEAN region.

Aiming to take an early lead in the future of industrial drone applications, Aerodyne Japan and ACSL are pursuing the Level 4 autonomous flying standard, in which a drone can handle all aspects of commercial operations without human intervention.

As a first step, ACSL’s state-of-the-art industrial drone platform, ACSL-PF2, and its smaller version - the Mini - will undergo a 1,000-hour safety and reliability test at Aerodyne Group’s campus in Malaysia. The data from the continuous flight test of 1,000 hours will serve as a key indicator for risk-level evaluation in a Level 4 drone autonomy environment.

The versatile ACSL-PF2 UAV platform can be expanded to suit various industrial applications, including delivery and logistics, asset inspections, aerial surveying, and all-weather disaster support activities. ACSL will use the data from the flight tests to improve the airworthiness and resilience of its drones as ASEAN economies develop legislations for Level 4 drone operations.

At the same time, collaborating with Aerodyne Group – a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence as an enabling technology for large-scale data operations, analytics, and process optimisation with a presence in 35 countries globally – will empower ACSL to realise its medium-term business strategy of expanding into the ASEAN region.

Satoshi Washiya, Representative President, ACSL, says, “Aerodyne Japan and Aerodyne Group’s prowess in the field of commercial drone data analytics will enable us to improve the usability and reliability of our commercial drone platforms for Level 4 autonomy. We are also excited to accelerate our expansion into the ASEAN region by leveraging Aerodyne Group’s market leadership position.”

Adds Kamarul A Muhamed, Aerodyne Group Founder and Group CEO, “The disruptive digital technologies associated with Industry 4.0, such as robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence, are poised to drive unprecedented productivity increases across ASEAN businesses. We are thrilled to be pushing the boundaries for commercial drone applications in this market with our partner ACSL.”