Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced the successful completion of proof-of-concept (PoC) testing for unmanned cargo transport by the cooperation of its K-RACER X1 unmanned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and delivery robot. The PoC testing was conducted with the aim of helping to solve societal issues such as labor shortages in the logistics industry.

In its Group Vision 2030, which describes the company’s future vision for 2030, Kawasaki specified three areas where it will focus its efforts: “A Safe and Secure Remotely-Connected Society,” “Near-Future Mobility” and “Energy and Environmental Solutions.” In the area of “Near-Future Mobility,” the company has been pursuing the development of unmanned VTOLs, delivery robots, and so on.

Kawasaki’s latest unmanned VTOL adopts improvements to an aircraft flight-tested in 2020. It is able to transport a 100-kilogram payload and is equipped with a delivery robot loading and unloading mechanism.