What do you do when drones go abrupt? If you shoot them down, it may be dangerous, especially if they contain explosives. So, why not have another drone attack it? That’s the logic behind this drone catcher that a team at Michigan Tech University created.
While using drones against one another may not be the best idea, there’s an entire industry devoted to technology that stops UAVs. Michigan Tech roboticist Mo Rastgaar and his students got the idea to develop a drone catcher two years ago when they learned that snipers were protecting the crowd from defector drones during the World Cup. The team took on this new design they deemed as a “pet project,” realizing there had to be a better solution to what occurred at the World Cup.
As a result, Rastgaar and his team developed a drone catcher with a net gun, allowing it to capture other drones in mid-air and carry them away. The group only needed two months to fulfill the project.
“We started this project in fall 2014, and by January 2015 we had the system,” Rastgaar said. “The video goes back to early 2015. So with some limited extra time we had, we developed this system as a proof of concept. Everything in the system, such as net size, net range, and hunter drone specifications, can be modified to meet the specific demands based on the different scenarios.”
Rastgaar’s lab is keen to developing robotic prostheses such as artificial ankles, making the drone catcher a project outside the box for them.
“It let us get out of the lab and have some excitement for science,” Rastgaar said.
The team believes law enforcement may be interested in the drone catcher technology, but if that doesn’t work out, there may be a future for the device in drone combats.
Source: Ars Technica
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