Game changing drone solutions

born in Okuma, the city of recovery

from nuclear disaster

About
Resolving social issues with hydrogen-fueled drones Long-distance flight drones + automatic operation management

Okuma Drone was founded as one of the new venture projects for Fukushima recovery.
All of our members have a global mindset, and leading multiple projects including hydrogen engine drones, special industry purpose drones and UTM development.

OKUMA DRONE Co., Ltd.
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Established

April 2021

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Capital

23,300,000 JPY

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Business
  • Research and development of special-purpose industrial drones
  • Social problem-solving service business utilizing drones
  • Development of a multiple drone simultaneous operation management system
  • Consulting services for drone solutions
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Okuma City Office

Inside the Okuma Town Incubator Center, 230 Shimonokami, Nakanokami, Okuma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

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Iwaki Office

1-16 Yoshima Industrial Park, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture

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Malaysia Office

Suite 3B-15-03, Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur

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CEO

Ken Lee

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Patent Technology
  • Patent Technology
  • Explosion-proof drone technology-related patents pending
Solving social issues by Hydrogen-fuel drone
ceo
Kenichi Lee, CEO

Studied engineering at California State Polytechnic University. After graduating, he worked at Dome in Japan as a designer and race engineer for domestic racing cars. Since 2011, he has been a member of the Compressor Technology Planning Department at Toyota Industries, which develops the hydrogen circulation system for Toyota Mirai, and has overseen technical planning for various compressors in a cross-departmental capacity.

Since 2017, he has overseen technical planning at Rakuten Drone Business Department. Engaged in product delivery demonstration experiments jointly with Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture and Lawson. We have also developed lawn disease detection and watering management services for golf courses using drones equipped with special sensors. The company will also develop automatic pesticide spraying and soil sensing services.

In April 2021, OKUMA DRONE was established by gathering the best of the drone industry. Appointed as founding president.

Team
Raphael Gross
Raphael Gross

Obtained doctoral degree from ONERA Aerospace Institute in France. After graduating, he joined Dassault Aviation, a leading company in the aerospace industry, and the University of Michigan.

Participated in numerous aviation technology projects at universities, Airbus, etc.

Moved to Japan in 2018. In multiple ventures, he has developed various drone-related needs, including machine learning for embedded autonomous flight systems, deep learning algorithms, deep learning, neural network projects, and UTM platform development for drone monitoring and management.

Engaged in software development. Participated in OKUMA DRONE from 2023.

Masashi Taruta
Masashi Taruta

Spent his childhood in Chicago, USA.Graduated from Keio University Faculty of Law. Joined GMO Internet, Inc. and was involved in setting up the company’s overseas bases.

Joined Rakuten in 2017. Promoting the introduction of unmanned aircraft control systems for airspace managers and drone operators into the Japanese market.
Leads drone demonstration projects across the country and the introduction of a flight information sharing system to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
In addition, in collaboration with local governments across the country, we are leading the demonstration of a drone operation management system that envisions various use cases such as logistics and disasters.

From 2021, Lee and many more. Together with the project, he will participate in OKUMA DRONE from 2023.

Masashi Kawaguchi
Masashi Kawaguchi

Studied design at PARSONS, an art school in New York, USA. After graduating from England Engaged in corporate brand strategy planning at a major brand consulting company.
Joined the Dentsu Group in 2002 and has been involved in numerous marketing projects. He launched a new business through an in- house venture system and led the way it later grew into a 10-billion-yen business.
Since 2018, we have been participating as a management member of a space satellite utilization venture certified by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Starting in 2020, the recovery plan for Okuma Town in Fukushima Prefecture will begin. Engaged in project.
In 2021, he founded OKUMA DRONE, a local venture, with Lee and Tides Style Yoshida. Obtained patent for video encryption processing technology.

Ryosuke Takahashi
Ryosuke Takahashi

Since his student days, he has dreamed of helping society as a programmer. After that, he worked in system development and was seconded to Toyota Motor Corporation and Sakura Bank, gaining experience in system development and operation at major companies.
Since then, he has had a wide range of experience at numerous companies, from back-end to front-end, including core systems, business systems, and web application development.
Started work in the drone industry in 2019.
Hardware development for fixed-wing drones, flight planning and operation management. We cover all aspects from administrative work to software development such as image analysis and display of analysis results.
From 2022, he will participate in our business as an advisor and producer.

Kuninori Tsuda
Kuninori Tsuda

Born in Osaka in 1963. Studied engineering at Ritsumeikan University’s College of Science and Engineering. After graduation, he became a broadcasting station engineer. He designed and developed satellite communication earth stations, mobile stations, satellite communication networks, studio equipment, uninterruptible power supply equipment, scrambling equipment, and disaster site communication headquarters equipment.

In 1999, he became the technical director (vice president) of Medialag, a music distribution company in the Sony Group. He directs the design and development project of video and music distribution systems using communication satellites.

In 2011, he established a manufacturing company related to equipment and devices. He designs, develops, and manufactures broadcasting systems, satellite communication systems, power supply systems, renewable energy-related equipment, hydrogen production-related equipment, and fuel cell power generation equipment.

In 2024, he became the director and technical advisor of OKUMA DRONE.

He serves as a planning and development committee member for the Quasi-Zenith Satellite (Michibiki) at the JAXA Satellite Use Promotion Committee. In addition to patented technology related to hydrogen gas flow control, he has obtained numerous patents related to renewable energy, power supply, drones, and space.