Various Methods Can Be Used To Combat Unwanted UAVs

As fast as some start-up companies are making new drones, others are developing technology to render them ineffective.

Reuters reports that there are a variety of ways under development to take down a drone. They range from the straight forward to the high-tech.

At one end of the spectrum is a system from Guard From Above that uses a drone to pluck intruding aircraft from the sky. The technology has been acquired by the Dutch national police for its anti-drone efforts.

Others use land-based guns or other drones to fire parachute-equipped nets at the unwanted aircraft, bringing them to the ground.

At the higher-tech end of the spectrum, some companies are developing jamming technology to interfere with the controls of the drone, or hack into the aircraft and take control from the operator. One of those, DroneVision Inc. of Taiwan, says its system can anticipate the "frequency hopping" some drones use. The system, which resembles a firearm with two large barrels, blocks GPS signals and video transmissions from the aircraft, and will force it back to its launch point using the onboard failsafe features.

Clients for the technology run the gamut from law enforcement to hotels. Reuters reports that local police recently took down 40 drones in a single day near Taipei101, one of the tallest buildings in the world that is often the subject of videographers. In the Middle East, high-end hotels plane to use anti-drone technology to prevent the paparazzi from capturing images or video of their celebrity guests.

The FAA is testing multiple anti-drone technologies around some airport.

Two counter-drone technology conferences are planned in London next year, according to the report.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_detection_initiative