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Small island prison first to install anti-drone 'forcefield'
Prisons have a drone problem, in that they're being used to fly drugs and other contraband over walls and into the hands of inmates. Dealing with these airborne mules is tricky because you either need to hope they crash or catch their operators in the act, but one prison is taking a more proactive approach to stopping undesirable deliveries. Alongside other security upgrades, the small, 139-capacity Les Nicolles Prison in Guernsey, Channel Islands, is said to be the first in the world to receive an anti-drone fence. It's not a physical barrier, but an invisible wall that jams pilot signals and stops drones from passing beyond its threshold.
T-Mobile's parent company is launching an anti-drone system
Anti-drone defense systems are about to become big business. T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Welt am Sonntag that it's developing an anti-drone defense system that should launch this year. It's not discussing details, but it would be offered as a security feature for airports, stadiums and other venues where robotic flyers are unwelcome or outright dangerous. Reportedly, car manufacturers are particularly eager for Deutsche Telekom's help -- they're annoyed by journalists (and no doubt competitors) using drones to snap photos of pre-production cars.
Eagles are being trained to take out illegal drones
Forget anti-drone drones, one of nature's most majestic hunters may soon play a valuable role in taking down dangerous UAVs. As part of a new trial, the Dutch National Police force has begun training eagles to intercept troublesome drones during an emergency, when another capture device might put people below at risk.
Michigan Tech's anti-drone drone snatches drones in mid air
Drones are in the mainstream now, and for every good drone operator, there's a nefarious one looking to do something nasty with theirs. A team of researchers from Michigan Tech is hoping to prevent disasters by building an anti-drone drone that can shoot a net to trap and catch its prey in mid-air. The project, led by Dr. Mo Rastgaar, was born out of the idea that using snipers to shoot drones made no sense if they were carrying harmful substances. For instance, the drone found on the roof of Japan's prime minister back in April 2015 was carrying radioactive material which could have been scattered around the surrounding area.
ICYMI: Smartphone picture printer, AR app for all and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A case designed to print the pictures that normally just stay on your smartphone is out, just in time for Christmas. Researchers at MIT are doing their best to connect all the smart appliances and gadgets within your home for easy control with a clever app called Reality Editor. And Tokyo's police are forming an anti-drone squad that will use large UAVs with nets to capture smaller drones.
Tokyo's solution to rogue drones? Drones with nets
Law enforcement agencies the world over are worried about the power of drones, and how nefarious types could use them for evil. Tokyo has decided that there's only one thing to be done about the problem, which is to form an anti-drone squad that'll apprehend rogue fliers in the air. Rather than using a dragnet on the ground, the anti-drone drone will use an actual net* to scoop up suspects and carry them away to safety. That may sound like it's being done for the LOLs, but it's deadly serious -- officers found a drone carrying radioactive material on the roof of the country's prime minister back in April.
Hate drones? This system tells you when to duck and cover
While drones can be fun and tremendously useful for huge industries like film and farming, in the wrong hands and with the right payload, they still have the capacity to invade privacy. That's why a new Kickstarter project is offering a system that can detect drones (small, personal ones, not military-grade machines) within 50 feet. The technology, officially called the Personal Drone Detection System, consists of two sensors, a command and a control module. It's connected to the internet via WiFi, and if it does sense a moving transmitter that could be a drone, it sounds an alarm or sends your phone or tablet a message if you're out.
