Three UK companies are working on a device that can 'freeze' drones if they enter a restricted area
Blighter Surveillance Systems / Flickr
The Anti-UAV Defence System (Auds) is being developed by Blighter Surveillance Systems, Chess Dynamics, and Enterprise Control Systems, and works by transmitting a radio signal at a drone that then jams the system, causing unresponsiveness.
"There are a number of frequency bands that are used by all of the manufacturers," Paul Taylor of Enterprise Control Systems told the BBC. "There's quite a lot of radio power [directed] on to the UAV - so much so that it can only hear our Auds signal."
It's a similar principle to cell phone blockers, which flood the frequencies used by phones to transmit calls, rendering them temporarily useless for communicating.
Hobbyists flying drones into restricted airspace, such as airports, is becoming more and more of a problem. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is receiving over 100 reports per day from pilots of drones within a five-mile radius of their aircraft.
There are also military applications for the Auds technology being developed. As drones become a much larger fixture in warfare, efforts to develop the ability to render them useless are growing. The US Army is developing a system to fire projectiles at drones to damage them. Boeing has also developed a compact laser system that can destroy a drone in a matter of seconds.
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