Over the last few years, national press stories covering drones and drone technology have increased considerably.
Drones have such potential to be used for good causes, with recent news stories including drones being used by the police fitted with thermal cameras to find vulnerable people, and an autonomous drone delivering a defibrillator to a 71-year-old in cardiac arrest in Sweden.
These mainstream stories are ever increasing and positively demonstrate the change towards a harmonious life with drones.
Unfortunately though, as the use of drones is increasing, we are also seeing an increase in opportunistic criminals abusing their use.
We often hear of stories such as drones flying contraband into prisons, or disruptions to airports and sites of critical national infrastructure.
However, the stories of criminals using drones to target businesses and individuals, often go untold.
Trespassing on business premises or private estates, with the intent to obtain information, flying over private superyachts to obtain photographs, or even simply flying a drone without permission in a flight restriction zone (FRZ), are just a few examples.
But what about in a real life scenario?
Thinking specifically about a skyscraper in Canary Wharf – you may wonder what harm a drone can cause?
To start with, Canary Wharf is within an FRZ, meaning no drones are able to fly without prior approval.
Secondly, imagine if a company is in conversations, with the potential for a merger or acquisition. If an illegal drone was to fly around the building and obtain video footage of confidential documents left around the office, there is potential for damage to be done.
Whether that be leaking information or even buying/selling shares, in order to fraudulently profit from such deal – the damage could be irreparable.
This is just one example of the harm a drone could indirectly cause, to businesses or individuals who are currently unaware or feel as though they aren’t a ‘target’ for such criminal activity.
Drone Defence Ltd have been working for several years, developing software and solutions to prevent the misuse of drones, whilst enabling drones and manned aircraft, to co-exist in the same airspace.
Richard Gill, Drone Defence CEO and founder said; “Drones are the future. The technological advancement within this industry is vast and happening at a significant pace.”
He continued; “Due to the rapid development of drones, modernisation of business premises, estates and critical national infrastructure sites, amongst many others, need to consider this and their protection.”
Individuals and businesses should now be looking at ways in which to protect themselves from being a victim of drone related crime.
What can be done?
There are multiple stages to defending against a drone.
- Detect
The AeroSentry detects the presence of a drone’s RF signature at a distance of up to 3km away, providing full airspace monitoring.
- Track
Follow a drone’s flight path via AeroTracker; an online solution for airspace managers to track drones alongside other forms of aviation, in their area of responsibility.
- Identify
By law, drones now need to be electronically conspicuous. Drone information is collected in real time via AeroTracker, using sensors across the UK.
Alternatively, slightly older drones can comply using AeroPing; providing its own power source and sensors for position, altitude, temperature, pressure, speed and direction. Simply attach to a drone, and it’s ready to be used.
The next steps involve ‘defeating’ a drone, of which there are multiple options.
These can be a standalone solution such as the E2000; a compact portable drone jammer.
Alternatively, the solutions can be built into one system such as AeroSentry with AeroTracker, providing the detection, tracking and identification tools, alongside jamming capabilities, to send the drone to its home position.
There are a variety of solutions available to sort a whole host of needs.
Richard Gill further commented; “Defence solutions against drones and UAV’s are becoming much more of a mainstream solution and are now considered just as important as a standard security system.”
He continued; “It was previously deemed to be an extremely expensive piece of kit and therefore out of reach. However, there are now a wide variety of products on offer, to suit a vast budget, making drone defence solutions more easily accessible.”
Drone Defence – Company Bio
Have you considered protecting your property or your business against drones? Let us know your opinion on this topic via Facebook or LinkedIn, or get in touch via our website (www.dronedefence.co.uk) to find out more.
Drone Defence are drone evangelists and believe that drone technology is going to change the way humanity views, interacts with and will eventually move around the planet. However, the Company has recognised the risks posed by illegal drone use and have develop a range of field-tested products and services to combat the emerging problem.