A call to test whether drones can support security
On October 23, 2026, Tokyo Metropolitan Government opened a call for a physical-AI pilot using its headquarters. The first round tests technical, institutional and operational issues in applying drones to security work. Here physical AI connects perception and decision processes with equipment acting in physical space, with an indoor security application to be tested.
The announcement does not report achieved unmanned security or labor-cost savings. The guidelines assume coordination with separately contracted human security services. Facility managers should examine what the equipment does, which decisions remain with people and how results will be evaluated.
Separate the deadline, project count and grant ceiling
| Item | Published condition |
|---|---|
| Announcement | October 23, 2026 |
| Application deadline | November 16, 2026 at 17:00 Japan Standard Time |
| Questions accepted | Until 12:00 noon JST on November 2, 2026 |
| Project count | One; the guidelines do not prescribe the number of drones |
| Grant ceiling | JPY 30 million; not a confirmed award or annual operating budget |
| Pilot period | Grant decision date through the end of March 2027 |
| Site | Indoors on floors 1 and 2 of Main Building No.1 at the metropolitan headquarters |
Sources: the program page（外部サイト、新しいタブで開きます） and call guidelines（外部サイト、新しいタブで開きます）. The grant decision is planned for late November or early December 2026. The operator has not thereby been selected and the pilot is not reported as started. Eligible expenditure and payment conditions are governed by the grant rules; the ceiling is not the amount guaranteed to be received or saved.
The specified hours are approximately 19:00–22:00 on open weekdays. Detailed routes, altitude, dates, counts and frequency will be agreed with Tokyo after the grant decision. This is not procurement of a 24-hour service covering every part of the headquarters. Check official updates and answers before applying, as published conditions may change.
Detection and security decisions have different owners
Pages 2–3 of the guidelines cover patrol applicability, detection of suspicious persons or objects, and information coordination with the disaster prevention center. Security decisions and on-site responses are assigned to an authorized security firm. The subsidized operator provides equipment, operation management, maintenance, detection information and technical testing; it does not perform security decisions or security acts.
This article proposes distinguishing the time of detection, the time information reaches the center and the content of a person's decision and response. Evaluation should also record missed detections, false alerts and overlapping notifications. These are proposed evaluation questions, not reported improvements in accuracy or response time.
Test the ability to stop as part of the operating system
At least one monitor must be assigned while a drone operates, and drones must not fly above third parties, including staff or guards. Human monitoring and coordination remain part of the pilot; these conditions do not establish a number of jobs that can be removed.
Pages 3–4 require immediate safety measures, such as stopping through predefined safe hovering or landing methods, when an accident or fault occurs or a risk of one is detected. Incidents require immediate initial reporting to Tokyo and cooperation with investigation and prevention. Restarting the pilot after an incident requires prior Tokyo approval. Emergency safety action is not to be delayed while awaiting approval.
Required records include video, sensor data, operation logs, software change histories, operations, maintenance and safety measures. The guidelines also require a maintenance arrangement based in Japan and the ability to reach the site within one hour of an accident or fault. These obligations belong in the pilot's staffing, communication and cost assessment.
Moving to routine operation requires a separate evaluation
The following are this article's proposed post-pilot checks. They do not mean Tokyo has decided on routine deployment or settled its conditions in this call.
| Check | Compare pilot and routine operation |
|---|---|
| Functions and coverage | Detection targets, unusable conditions and cases needing human confirmation |
| Safety and responsibilities | Stop decisions, recovery procedures and roles of monitors, guards and facility managers |
| Continuing costs | Monitoring, maintenance, communications, batteries/equipment replacement, records and insurance |
| Continuity | Backup security, data handover and operation after the contract ends |
The JPY 30 million ceiling is not a measure of continuing operating costs. Labor-cost comparisons should match the tasks covered by existing security with the monitoring and maintenance added by the pilot. Savings and staffing effects need defined coverage and measurement rather than assumptions.
The public facility management DX article addresses facility registers and inspection-data integration. This case focuses on human decisions and evaluation conditions in a specific pilot. Extract the verification tasks and responsibilities first, then decide what evidence your own facility would require before considering routine operation.
References
First physical-AI pilot call opens — Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Press release, October 23, 2026
Physical-AI pilot, FY 2026 first round — Tokyo Office of the Governor for Policy Planning. Application schedule, updated October 23, 2026
Physical-AI pilot call guidelines — Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Scope pp.2–3; safety and records pp.3–4; conditions p.11
Physical-AI pilot grant rules — Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Grant and payment conditions