Tsunami Countermeasures for Nankai Trough Earthquake: Realizing a Safe and Secure Society for People and Pets with 'Drone Laser Search'!

Our association supports April Dream, a day to share dreams on April 1st. This press release is the dream of "NPO Hikari Search Association" (Osaka City, Chairman: Yoshinobu Maeda). In collaboration with APEX Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Representative: Yusuke Shimoguchi), the East Japan executive company, and SMG Consultant Co., Ltd. (Yamaguchi City, Representative: Fumiyoshi Okamura), the West Japan executive company, we will organize a "National Drone Laser Search Team" to realize green laser search nationwide. In the event of a disaster, unfortunately, the current method of search is limited to visual inspection. However, visual search is only effective during the day, and night searches are prohibited due to the risk of secondary accidents. If left in the cold sea at night, the probability of survival becomes extremely low. By equipping both people and pets with "Retroreflective Variable QR Codes," we can achieve a safe and secure society with rapid search capabilities day and night. This system will also become an essential item when boarding "flying cars & taxis," which are planned for commercial operation as early as next year. The technology for "drone laser search" exists; let's all work together to spread it throughout society and realize a society where both people and pets can live with peace of mind!

■ What is "Drone Laser Search with Retroreflective Variable QR Codes"?

The "Retroreflective Variable QR Code" is an advanced disaster prevention and safety support tool that combines retroreflective material with a variable QR code, revolutionizing the concept of "findability" through light. Special retroreflective material responds with high sensitivity to laser light, enabling rapid and wide-area search by drones using laser search, even in environments where wireless communication is difficult, such as mountains and at sea. The reason for making the retroreflective material into a QR code is to enable individual identification and shorten search times.

It is anticipated that tens of thousands of victims and pets will be swept away by tsunamis from large earthquakes like the Nankai Trough and Tohoku. If swept into the sea, radio waves cannot physically penetrate the water, so currently, visual search is the only effective method. On the other hand, our proposed green laser search can search up to 10m underwater, and by irradiating the laser like a carpet, it can semi-automatically analyze strong reflected light from the retroreflective material. This offers a clear advantage over visual search. In particular, visual search is not conducted at night due to poor visibility. Furthermore, night searches are prohibited due to the risk of secondary accidents. We want to prevent victims and pets from drifting in the cold sea at night. Meanwhile, unmanned drones do not pose a risk of secondary accidents, and night searches are more effective as they are less affected by daytime sunlight. Therefore, we aim to equip people and beloved pets with "laser search" capabilities even in normal times.

In recent years, many drone laser measurement companies operate nationwide. For example, even in mountainous areas with dense forests, drones can irradiate lasers, and the reflected laser light from the ground, passing between leaves, can accurately survey the terrain. Also, using green lasers that penetrate seawater, coastlines and riverbeds up to several meters underwater can be surveyed. Nationwide drone laser measurement companies possess abundant highly skilled personnel who can analyze the reflected light from laser irradiation devices, each costing tens of millions of yen. We will utilize this network of nationwide drone laser measurement companies.

■ Retroreflective Variable QR Code Items

Our association is promoting the widespread use of wear and keychains equipped with the Retroreflective Variable QR Code emblem. Anyone can encounter disasters such as tsunamis. Even those who grew up in the mountains and do not go to the coast may pass through coastal areas during a once-a-year trip. I believe it is important to be prepared for this on a daily basis. By wearing the "Retroreflective Variable QR Code," you gain the option of laser search.

The variable QR code part has the flexibility to update photos and messages freely and repeatedly, making it useful not only during disasters but also as a lost child tag, a monitoring tool for the elderly, an emergency response tool for pets and travelers, and even a daily information sharing item. It combines disaster prevention and personalization, holding many possibilities as a next-generation "smart amulet" that is active even in the city.

We have started selling "Retroreflective Variable QR Code" items on Amazon.

■ Please search for "Retroreflective Variable QR Code keychain or iron-on print (manufactured by Hikari Triode)" on the Amazon site to purchase.

Retroreflective Variable QR Code keychain or iron-on print

■ Corporate Information

NPO Hikari Search Association (Osaka City, Chairman: Yoshinobu Maeda) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting human life rescue during maritime and mountain accidents and disasters through the research, development, and popularization of the "Hikari Search System" utilizing laser light and retroreflective materials. The association conducts demonstration experiments of search activities using laser-equipped drones and is developing products that combine retroreflective materials and variable QR codes. It also conducts reflection experiments in space, aiming to build a wide-area search infrastructure using laser-equipped artificial satellites in the future.

We are grateful to have been selected for PR TIMES's non-profit organization support project.

■ Corporate Overview

Corporate Name: NPO Hikari Search Association

Representative: Chairman Yoshinobu Maeda

Location: ZEN203, 1-2-4 Sakuragawa, Naniwa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 556-0022

Established: October 2019

Business Activities: Promotion and dissemination of Hikari Search System, human life rescue activities using Hikari Search System

URL: ​​https://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~hikari-search/index.html

URL: ​​Amazon.co.jp: Retroreflective Variable QR Code Iron-on Print, Photos and Messages Rewritable, Lost Child Tag, Mountain Climbing Gear, Drone Laser Search Possible