You can virtually travel to Mount Fuji using self-piloted drones

The Shizuoka Prefectural Government Singapore Rep. Office is collaborating with local companies in Singapore and Shizuoka to let people virtually travel using - wait for it - drones!

Remote-ready drones can fly in Japan while being controlled in Singapore, allowing tourists to travel abroad without actually leaving home.At a recent virtual tour event, participants were able to fly a drone around the foot of Mt. Fuji and explore its stunning scenery, while controlling the drone remotely in Singapore.

Attendees at the event also got to participate in a tea blending session, where they were given actual tea leaves and powder to make their own original blended teas.

A drone operator generally has to be onsite to fly a drone, which usually has an operational range of two-three km from its operator. However, these tours allow users to control drones remotely over the internet from hundreds to thousands of kilometres away. Remote control tests were conducted over 5G at Singtel’s 5G lab in Singapore, which supports the virtual tour’s various technical aspects.

The tourism industry is in a shaky spot at the moment due to the ongoing pandemic, and inbound tourism to Japan is understandably at an all-time low. To address the issue, the Shizuoka government is coming up with new and alternative forms of virtual tourism specifically for Singaporeans who wish to travel again.

Director of Shizuoka Prefecture’s Representative Office in Southeast Asia, Mr Wataru Fukuda, stated that the prefecture would like to bring its remote control technology to local exhibitions such as NATAS Travel FAIR, mainly to stimulate the market for tourists to Japan. Mt. Fuji is a fairly iconic location in Japan, which makes it perfect for virtual travel opportunities like these.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.