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Point-And-Shoot Weapon Stops Drones Without Destroying Them

Posted by timothy on from the endless-fun-from-the-balcony dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Unmanned aerial vehicles — so-called drones — can be helpful, malicious, or simply disruptive, depending on the intentions of those who use them. But while regular folks have to be worried about law suits if they shoot one down, law enforcement officers have a better solution, and one that's currently legal (for them): stop one mid-flight. This can be achieved with DroneDefender, a recently made available "gun" that uses radio control frequency disruption technologies to safely stop drones in the air, before they can pose a threat to military or civilian safety.

10 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. This will work until...... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This will work until the drones are equipped with some rudimentary autonomous controls that will take over when the control signal is lost.

    It'll just follow its "panic-mode" programming and fly a direct course back to its origin, or loiter far enough away to be out of range of the hostile jamming.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:This will work until...... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Return to Base" is still a mission kill from a police perspective. As long as it's not taking embarrassing videos, whatever else it does is fine.

      Then drones will eventually be hardened, use frequency-hopping or burst communication, have longer range optic capabilities, fly at higher altitudes and be stealthier, etc etc. They'll be fixed up to drop remote transmitters, drop cameras into nearby trees and onto nearby buildings, and lots of other tricks.

      I'm not sure the authorities can win this one (although I'm sure they'll try).

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    2. Re:This will work until...... by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I'd agree with your assessment regarding military drones, but probably not for civilian types. The technology will only escalate if the participants are actively trying to defeat those defensive mechanisms. Why would most drones or their operators care about that, since they likely have no intention of doing anything that would get them in trouble with law enforcement in the first place?

      Besides, if the drone defeats the radio-based approach, law enforcement (or military) will simply resort to the "flying lead" approach. There's not a lot of defensive measures you can take against a well aimed shotgun - presumably the gun of choice for forcefully removing drones from the air.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    3. Re:This will work until...... by 0123456 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The gun also jams GPS making some (most?) of the return-to-home features dysfunctional.

      Sounds like a great toy for the brave new driverless car future.

    4. Re:This will work until...... by mysidia · · Score: 2

      Sounds like a great toy for the brave new driverless car future.

      That also makes it highly illegal. Under FCC regulations, nobody can engage in willful or malicious radio interference.

      Even members of law enforcement wielding one would be subject to jail time and huge fines for operating one....

    5. Re:This will work until...... by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      I'm not quite sure what you're implying... that it's dangerous to do that? Assuming you're not firing solid slugs or heavy buckshot, it's reasonably safe to fire a shotgun into the air. Birdshot raining back down retains little of it's kinetic energy.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  2. Yep, FCC is gonna love this one by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Shooting high intensity RF through a pointable device? One that could also be pointed at, oh I dunno, that annoying a-hole talking too loud on his phone? Or that cop chasing you for whatever reason?

    Not to mention the hazards of having 20 lb of plastic and steel falling several feet out of the sky onto who knows what?

    Prolly won't work for a lot of them anyway, if they lose signal they're programmed to head home.

    I see fail in a lot of different areas on this one.

    1. Re:Yep, FCC is gonna love this one by sunderland56 · · Score: 4, Funny

      If the police are half as accurate with this device as they are with their sidearms, we haven't too much to be concerned about.

      That depends. If the drone is painted black, it's in trouble.

  3. Pffft! by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    From the youtube link:

    this is a simulation of our DroneDefender.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  4. Re:Liability for crashes? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Police liable for anything?

    Lets be honest, this is America where police aren't liable for flash bangs.