Drone catcher: Next level of security tool?

New York, Jan 9: An associate professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University has designed a device that can capture and retrieve rouge drones.

Mo Rastgaar designed a drone catcher that can chase, capture and retrieve rogue drones that might threaten military installations, air traffic, sporting events.

The drone, controlled by a ground-based human pilot, takes up the chase and shoots a big net by a string after an intruding drone is spotted.

It can fire the net from a distance of up to 40 feet quickly enough that it can overwhelm even the fastest, most manoeuvrable small drone. Then the net swings down below the drone catcher, which ferries its cargo to a safe location.

"It gets really entangled. It is not going anywhere," Rastgaar said.

"What makes this unique is that the net is attached to our catcher, so you can retrieve the rogue drone or drop it in a designated, secure area. It is like robotic falconry," Rastgaar added.

Other members of the team are Evandro Ficanha, a research engineer working with Rastgaar, PhD student Guilherme Ribeiro and mechanical engineering graduates Ruiyu Kang and Dean Keithly.

The material, provided by Michigan Technological University, was published in journal Science Daily.

IANS