Case Study: KDDI achieves centimeter-accurate water infrastructure mapping with Swift Navigation’s Skylark

KDDI cuts leak reporting from 2 hours to 2 minutes with Swift Navigation

KDDI, a major Japanese telecommunications company, faced the challenge of modernizing the mapping and management of aging water infrastructure across geographically diverse regions. Traditional methods were slow and required specialized, bulky equipment, making accurate asset mapping difficult. To address this, KDDI partnered with vendor Swift Navigation to leverage its Skylark Precise Positioning Service.

Swift Navigation's solution utilized its cloud-based Skylark service, specifically Skylark Cx, which delivers centimeter-level GNSS corrections over cellular networks. This allowed field crews to use compact receivers and smartphones instead of heavy surveying gear. The results included centimeter-level accuracy, position capture in about one minute per point, and a dramatic reduction in leak reporting workflows from two hours to just two minutes. Following this successful verification, KDDI plans to roll out the system nationwide.

KDDI