Drone that hunts and takes down other drones in development

[Smudger]

Does it also phone the other drones to tell them "I will hunt you, I will find you, and I will kill you"?

[TheAnimus]

Airspace over your property isn't yours at all, do you think you should be allowed to take down the ISS or an Airplane?

At the same time, you also have an expectation to privacy, if someone is invading that, then you can press legal action. Neither scenario is destroying a drone a good idea.

I also worry, that some of these larger drones, that weigh a few kg, are flown very irresponsibly, by this I mean over people. Any control failure and blam, drone lands on their head. I've seen some professional videos in London that really, really worry me, as the drone is clearly 20m+ above crowded people. That's going to be a bad time if it falls. These aren't planes, they have no glideslope, I guess the classic comment if the wings are moving faster than the fuselage it's a helicopter and therefore likely to kill you springs to mind.

I've also just bought a parrot bebop drone, so......

[mtyson]

Is this the motherboard in the Rapere interceptor drone?

[crossy]

Well I say we avoid these counter drones all together and go for installations of automated ground to air missiles. Perhaps we could adjust the Starstreak missile system? Or train falcons to hunt them down.Or have a guy run around with a really long pole poking them all down.

And which one of those are you going to Kickstart/Indiegogo?

Personally I prefer the idea of some kind of minigun spin-off that uses paintballs (bio-degradable of course). Maybe some kind of electo-magnetic propulsion would be preferable? (Got to think of the noise, don't want to upset the neighbours).

[Saracen]

Airspace over your property isn't yours at all, do you think you should be allowed to take down the ISS or an Airplane?

At the same time, you also have an expectation to privacy, if someone is invading that, then you can press legal action. Neither scenario is destroying a drone a good idea.

I also worry, that some of these larger drones, that weigh a few kg, are flown very irresponsibly, by this I mean over people. Any control failure and blam, drone lands on their head. I've seen some professional videos in London that really, really worry me, as the drone is clearly 20m+ above crowded people. That's going to be a bad time if it falls. These aren't planes, they have no glideslope, I guess the classic comment if the wings are moving faster than the fuselage it's a helicopter and therefore likely to kill you springs to mind.

I've also just bought a parrot bebop drone, so......

Rules on flying ANY aircraft, manned or not (except for kites and, IIRC, some balloons) are governed by CAA rules (Air Navigation Order, and various CAP's).

Exactly what the rules are depend on a variety of factors, not least weight (sub 7Kg, 7-150Kg, or 150Kg and up), but the first three priorities are safety, safety and safety. There are exemptions from much of the ANO for 'model' aircraft, and lightweight drones are included in that IF flown for 'recreational' purposes. And as soon as flying a drone is "commercial" it's illegal unless you get "permission" from the CAA, which means a course, exam and writing (and getting approved) a flight operations manual. And costs the best part of two grand to do.

So, on that basis alone, using your own drone to inspect your own roof is okay, but being paid to use a drone to insoect someone else's isn't.

But that isn't the only factor.

Others include flying in or over "conjested areas" being illegal, unless you submit a safety case application, which will result in an individual assessment by the CAA, and an invoice to match.

On top of that, you cannot fly with 50m of people, vehicles or structures, unless they are within your control, and greater distances if the number of people is large (like a display). Oh, and down to 30m, IIRC, for take-off and landing.

The person flying the drone needs direct visual line-of-sight of the drone at all times, which generally means 500m horizontally and max 400ft vertically. But .... direct line of sight. You can have video downlinks (FPV) and someone else could control that, and a camera, but the person flying the drone MUST have direct sight (for hobby or commercial use, though 'state' or military rules are outside standard CAA rules). The drone flyer can have a video downlink as well but still must maintain direct visual line of sight. And the "direct" bit also means nobody else can be watching it and saying "left a bit, back a bit" etc.

And the rules get yet tighter is the UAV has "sensors". If that "sensor" is, for example, a GPS receiver tracking position, mthen okay. But put anything on that captures and transmits or records "data", which includes cameras, ground radar, etc, and the drone (UAV) becomes an aerial surveillance vehicle, and you have yet another set of CAA limits, AND you are potentially, at least, running foul of the Data Protection Act and the Information Commissioner's Office. For instance, record ANYTHING that counts as personal information, like video footage of identifiable individuals, and it is likely that you are covered by the DPA.

It's still a very new area, and test cases are xtill pretty thin on the ground. It's hard to be sure exactly how this will all apply until it's been used, and tested and challenged, in the courts.

But using a drone to survey your own roof isn't necessarily illegal, but in the UK, in most circumstances, probably is. If you're lucky enough that your roof is > 50m from other people, vehicles and structures not under your control, then I think you're okay. But the vast majority of us don't have 50m clear space between us and our nearest neighbour.

The worrying thing, in my view, is that I'd bet the number of people with "drones", let alone "surveillance" drones is almost certainly FAR greater than the number of people that have any notion of what laws they're breaking, or at risk of breaking.

But in the end, all (or most, anyway) the rules come back to .... safety. For instance, anyone flying any such vehicle, including model planes and helI's, is supposed to ONLY to so if they're confident it is safe, in the current circumstances. That, above all else, is the over-riding obligation.

[Saracen]

.... I've seen some professional videos in London that really, really worry me, as the drone is clearly 20m+ above crowded people. That's going to be a bad time if it falls. These aren't planes, they have no glideslope, I guess the classic comment if the wings are moving faster than the fuselage it's a helicopter and therefore likely to kill you springs to mind....

That's one VERY good argument for multi-rotor above 4 motors. If a quad motor fails, it's coming down. If a hex or oct loses a motor, it can still fly. At least if some irresponsible idiot is flying a multi over crowds, almost certainly illegally, it reduces the chance of it killing someone if it drops out of the sky. It's likely to be less expensive, too.

[Jowsey]

And which one of those are you going to Kickstart/Indiegogo?

Personally I prefer the idea of some kind of minigun spin-off that uses paintballs (bio-degradable of course). Maybe some kind of electo-magnetic propulsion would be preferable? (Got to think of the noise, don't want to upset the neighbours).

Or perhaps a modular system using a large roomba as a ground vehicle? It can patrol and still return to charge! Then you can attach the required tool depending on your anticipated amount of "boggies", or if you just want a sustained air protection area you could equip armies of roombas with large sticks.

Then we can expand to larger vehicles and fixed place turrets and fire-control systems. People could network these together (bloody IOT) and start forming defensive nets over there property...

Too far?

[peterb]

The 400 foot altitude limit is mandatory anyway to give vertical safety separation as aircraft are required to be above 1000 feet. Obviously landing and take off is another matter, so you cannot fly any unmanned aircraft within controlled airspace, which in practice is from ground level within 2 miles of an airport, with getting permission or notifying local ATC.

But in all cases amateur or commercial, the legal requirement (which applies to everyone anyway) is not to endanger other aircraft.

[jigger]

Harpoon dartguns would be better. Get rid of pest and free drone/camera equipment too!

Less chance of getting done by coppers for having a little catapult lol

Are you kdding me?! YOU COULD HAVE GONE WITH FLIGHT CLUB!

Pah, you had your chance and you SQUANDERED it!

Haha.. I was quoting 'Spaced'! What's 'Flight Club' from??

I got it. Made me chuckle.

[Lowe]

How long before the paps just put an umbrella over their Quad? Foiled...

Also Saracen - I heard there's a loophole with the CAA regs. If you're using a drone to specifically make money then yes you need to have a licence. If however you're asked to do a job and part of that involves you using a drone, oddly enough you don't need to do the CAA thing. This opens up a can of worms - think about an estate agent...

[peterb]

Article 259 of the Air Navigation Order defines aerial work. So if using a UAV involves a "valuable consideration" such as surveying for marketing purposes, then it is air work and IMHO would come under that rule.

[Flibb]

I am currently building up a TBS quad, have been flying a standard F450 for about a year now.

As Saracen has said a lot of users seem to be unaware or dont care about the rules and regs, go on youtube and your will find plenty of examples, CAA are also working their way through them. Its amazes me the number of people that will spend £600-1000 on a ready to fly setup and not read the instructions, let alone any rules. On the flip side many of the RTF units have a habit of fly aways, although I suspect many are down to user error. DJI (and others) have started building no fly zones in to the flight control software on amateur units, hopefully this will help a bit.

[peterb]

I'm flying a 550, and taking the BNUC-S. I suspect that the current interest in UAVs is a bit of a fad, and many of them will end up gathering dust.

I also think the CAA will start enforcing the restrictions, and I see the British Model Flying Association are keen to distance themselves from serious flyers and those that by an RTF aircraft with no idea of the legal niceties or responsibilities.

I know there are several prosecutions pending for breaches of the relevant articles of the Air Navigation Order.

[csgohan4]

Can drones be downed by Air rifles?

[peterb]

Can drones be downed by Air rifles?

Depends what you it - and you would be liable for criminal damage to the aircraft, damage it might cause on landing, and potential prosecution under the Air Navigation Order for endangering aircraft.

[ZaO]

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