Awards

Sharp Corporation, in collaboration with Cube Earth Co., Ltd. and Miratech Drone Co., Ltd., has received the Grand Prize at the 11th Japan Resilience Awards, organized by Association for Resilience Japan.^*1 The award recognizes their jointly developed "Support System for Efficient and Safe Search Operations in Missing Person Rescue Missions."

The award ceremony was held on Tuesday, April 22, at Iino Hall in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Representing Sharp, Aya Nakatani, Assistant Manager of Research Division 2, Society Innovation Laboratories, Corporate Research and Development Group, attended the event.

This initiative leverages the 2024 Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Regional Digital Infrastructure Promotion Project, using drones equipped with Wi-Fi HaLow^*2 access points to enable wide-area data synchronization in mountainous regions where conventional communication infrastructure is unavailable. This allows real-time information sharing among search teams and the command center. Furthermore, the deployment of an advanced search app enhances situational awareness—such as identifying danger zones—and contributes to both improved search efficiency and prevention of secondary disasters.
The Japan Resilience Awards commends organizations and initiatives that contribute to building a strong and flexible society for future generations. This includes efforts related to national and regional resilience, disaster prevention and mitigation, and development of relevant technologies and products. The selection is made by a panel of judges, including Cabinet Secretariat officials and experts from academia and industry.

*1 Association for Resilience Japan is a general incorporated association established to facilitate the smooth implementation of Japan’s National Resilience Basic Plan, which originated from the private advisory body National Resilience Roundtable under the Minister for National Resilience. The association brings together the collective expertise of industry, academia, government, and civil society to promote strategic use of resilience measures both in normal times and emergencies, aiming to maximize the synergistic effects of public and private investment toward building a truly resilient nation.

*2 Wi-Fi HaLow (IEEE 802.11ah) is a wireless communication standard operating in the 920MHz sub-GHz band, designed specifically for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. It enables long-range communication (up to 1 km), supports transmission of images and videos, and is characterized by low power consumption, making it a highly promising solution across various fields.