[Hokkaido First] Terra Drone Succeeds in Sewer Pipe Demo Inspection Using Proprietary Indoor Inspection Drone 'Terra Xross 1'

Terra Drone Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Toru Tokushige; hereinafter 'Terra Drone') announced that on March 30, 2026, in collaboration with Dream Base Co., Ltd., a drone service provider in Hokkaido, and Hokkaido Green Maintenance Co., Ltd., a sewer maintenance company, it successfully conducted a demo inspection of sewer pipes using its proprietary indoor inspection drone 'Terra Xross 1'. This marks the first successful case of utilizing a drone for sewer pipe inspection in Hokkaido.

Background of Implementation

Currently, there is an urgent need to streamline the inspection of aging domestic infrastructure. Among these, sewer pipe inspections face challenges in both safety and efficiency with conventional methods due to non-GPS and dark environments, as well as many narrow spaces.

In particular, sewer pipes face the following challenges:

Hazardous manual labor: In locations with high water levels or large-diameter pipes (over 2 meters), conventional robots (camera cars) cannot operate, requiring workers to enter directly. However, the pipes are harsh environments with risks of oxygen deficiency and hydrogen sulfide poisoning, making worker safety a major concern.

Technical constraints: Because the pipes are non-GPS and dark environments, it is difficult for general drones to stabilize, making flight highly challenging. Additionally, many conventional indoor inspection drones are expensive, creating a hurdle for adoption.

Approach with 'Terra Xross 1'

In response to these challenges, Terra Drone's indoor inspection drone 'Terra Xross 1' is expected to be utilized as a solution combining safety, operability, and ease of adoption.

Stable flight utilizing both proprietary LiDAR and visual sensors: Equipped with LiDAR technology cultivated since the company's founding and a 4K camera. Stable flight is possible even in non-GPS and dark environments, allowing for safe inspections without requiring expert piloting skills.

Overwhelming cost performance: Achieves a price level approximately one-third of competing products. This strongly supports its introduction into the indoor inspection market.

High-quality data acquisition: Equipped with a high-performance camera, it can clearly capture anomalies even in dark places.

Overview of Demo Inspection

In this demo inspection, 'Terra Xross 1' was utilized to conduct flight verification in the non-GPS, dark environment of sewer pipes in Hokkaido, where inspections were difficult with conventional methods. As a result, stable flight and high-quality video acquisition were confirmed, demonstrating its effectiveness for labor-saving and safety improvement in hazardous sewer inspections.

Implementation Date: March 30, 2026

Flight Environment: Sewer pipes in Hokkaido (20-30 meters underground, large diameter of 5 meters)

Flight Results: Utilizing both LiDAR and visual sensors, successfully achieved 10-20 meters of stable flight in a dark and narrow environment.

[Roles of Each Company]

Hokkaido Green Maintenance Co., Ltd.: Main executor of demo inspection, site handling, proposal of inspection methods

Dream Base Co., Ltd.: Drone sales, drone operation, site support

Terra Drone: Drone development/manufacturing, technical support

Future Prospects

Terra Drone will deploy 'Terra Xross 1' to local governments and maintenance companies nationwide, promoting digital transformation (DX) in the infrastructure inspection industry. The company will continue to develop and improve drones that meet on-site needs, aiming to realize a society where anyone can safely and easily conduct infrastructure inspections.

Representative Comments

<Toru Tokushige, President and CEO, Terra Drone Corporation> 'We are very pleased to have successfully completed the demo inspection using Terra Xross 1 in Hokkaido. We have received high praise that even highly difficult areas, which were challenging with conventional methods, can be inspected "easily and with high quality" using this drone. We will deploy this model, developed with the motto "Anyone can fly it easily," nationwide to transform the way infrastructure is inspected in Japan.'

<Reo Mikage, Sales and Construction Section Chief, Hokkaido Green Maintenance Co., Ltd.> 'The utilization of drones in sewer maintenance is considered highly effective practically as a means of visualizing areas that were difficult to handle with conventional visual inspections or TV camera surveys. Furthermore, by combining the acquired video data with AI analysis, we expect developments towards quantitative evaluation of deterioration phenomena such as cracks, joint defects, and corrosion, as well as standardization of judgments and labor-saving. Through this, we anticipate a shift from the conventional reliance on the experience of skilled technicians to data-driven maintenance management.'

<Masanori Izu, President and Representative Director, Dream Base Co., Ltd.> 'In recent years, against the backdrop of aging infrastructure and a shortage of workers, there is a demand for improved efficiency and sophistication in inspection operations, and expectations for inspection methods utilizing drones are growing even higher. Through drone sales and operator training, our company is working to popularize technologies that can actually be utilized on-site. In this demo inspection, we confirmed that safe and efficient inspections are possible even in environments that were previously difficult to handle, thanks to the high operability and stable flight performance of Terra Xross 1. Moving forward, by integrally providing drone introduction support and training/operation support, we will contribute to the further popularization of drone utilization in the infrastructure inspection field and the establishment of sustainable maintenance management systems.'

Dream Base Co., Ltd. Through drone sales, training, and operation support, the company is working to popularize the use of drones in industrial fields. It responds to various on-site needs such as infrastructure inspection, surveying, and streamlining of inspection work, providing consistent services from drone introduction to operator training and operation support. It also emphasizes 'drone operations that anyone can utilize safely and reliably' and focuses on providing educational programs suited to practical operations. The company will continue to contribute to the maintenance and management of social infrastructure from both technological and human resource perspectives.

Hokkaido Green Maintenance Co., Ltd. With over 50 years since its founding, the company strongly recognizes the necessity of 'beautification and maintenance of the urban living environment' across Hokkaido. Centered in Sapporo, it engages in road maintenance (road cleaning, catch basin cleaning, snow removal) and sewer maintenance (sewer cleaning, investigation, repair/reconstruction) throughout Hokkaido, as well as IT business selling efficiency systems for on-site documents using iPads for corporations. Under the theme of 'infrastructure maintenance for roads and sewers and close community ties,' the company aims to be community-based by striving to provide customers with high-quality, advanced, reliable, and polite work, as well as highly satisfying services.

Terra Drone Corporation Terra Drone is working on solving problems utilizing spatial information under the mission of 'Unlock "X" Dimensions (fusing different dimensions to create a rich future)'.