A growing issue today is the presence of drones in private areas. In these troubling times, a bird may actually be the potential solution.
These drones can sometimes pose a risk in privacy, flying around residences without consent. At other times, these wandering drones can cause danger to those around them. In airports for instance, a lone drone has the potential of crashing a plane. All it takes is one direct hit and hundreds of people are in danger.
Bird of Prey
Because of this looming threat, several potential solutions have been tossed around. The most common way to deal with drones is to disable them remotely. Airports around the world have started using radar jammers in an attempt to ‘steal’ control away from the drone owner. Using these jammers, they can safely bring down a drone without the need to find the owner first.
For a more aggressive approach, police in the past have used lasers to torch drones from a distance. This is a more direct approach, and usually the drone in question receives significant damage. For the most part, it leaves the drone completely grounded.
Another method that may see more use is via trained birds. These trained birds can fly into the air, take down a drone, and bring them to the ground with minimal damage. In theory, similar to police dogs, these birds can be trained and sent out on missions.
The Ups and Downs
Using live birds to act as a countermeasure for drones have both positives and negatives. For positives, the birds trained to take down a drone have the potential of de-escalating a situation very quickly. Their powerful talons can grip drones and bring them to the ground with ease.
However, these are still animals, and there are a few issues to consider. The first is training – it takes long periods to train animals to do exactly what needs to be done. Animal rights activists have also complained that pitting birds against machines.
What do you think? Are birds of prey the solution to this growing problem?
