As technology advances, drones might soon be used as an essential part of virtual tours to allow “travellers” to experience virtual tours in a new way. The recent “Mt. Fuji Drone Challenge in Asagiri” event tried this new form of hybrid travel. Participants utilized new drone remote control technologies that take flight in Japan, while being controlled in Singapore.
Mt. Fuji Drone Challenge in Asagiri
The first run of this event was conducted on 9 September and participants were given a chance to fly a drone at the foot of Mt Fuji and enjoyed the stunning view, while controlling the drone remotely from the designated venue in Singapore.
Adding New Interactive Experiences To Virtual Tours
Participants also had various interactive experiences such as a tea blending session using Shizuoka’s famous green tea, and a virtual tour to a famous sake brewery where they got to taste the finest Japanese sake produced in the region. For the tea blending session, actual tea leaves and powder were presented to each participant, who experienced making their own original blended tea. The entire event was broadcast live on Facebook.
Mr Akira Hirakawa, the co-founder of Red Dot Drone Pte Ltd, gave an introductory course on remote drone piloting. He firmly believes that drone technology will be essential in the future of tourism since operators can visit places without being there physically.
Future Hybrid Travelling With Drones
A representative from a travel agency added that he believes that most Singaporeans would want to visit Japan immediately after overseas travel regulations are relaxed. They also added that it would be interesting to have various remote-controlled drone sites in other parts of Japan which will let participants “tour” even more regions of Japan.
Watch the Facebook Live event at the link here.
