Drones: some love them and some outright despise them. Why? Because even though drones are fun to play with, they may also be a threat to firefighters, law enforcement officers and even worse, air traffic controllers. Cue the Dutch National Police Force and its eagles that are trained to take out illegal flying robots.
According to sources, the Dutch National Police Force has collaborated with Guard From Above – a raptor-training security firm – to train eagles that will be used to take out illegal drones in the sky. The idea of taking out illegal drones isn’t something new; prior to using eagles, Michigan Tech presented its take on taking out illegal drones using an “anti-drone drone”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HifO-ebmE1s
CEO of Guard From Above, Sjoerd Hoodgendoorn, described using eagles to disable drones as a “low-tech solution for a high-tech problem”. We like to think of this method as eco-friendly instead. However, this method does have serious issues that must be addressed before it becomes a viable solution. For one, the eagles could be damaged by the spinning rotors of the drones, which won’t be accepted lightly by animal rights activist.
Despite this, the idea of disabling drones using trained eagles may be an effective way to reduce the danger that drones might bring. Drone owners might want to keep an eye on eagles in the sky next time.
(Source: Engadget)
