ApolloShield has developed its namesake, anti-drone package that can detect an errant UAV and kick it back to its owner.
Using a radio and audio sensors, as well as cameras, ApolloShield’s “cyberboxes” can be placed over a pre-set perimeter to detect unwanted drones. Once a drone is targeted, the system overrides the UAV’s navigational array, sending it back to the drone user’s controller.
The product also includes a cloud-based command center that networks with the cyberboxes and orchestrates the entire operation.
“ApolloShield finds the unique identifiers of most drones, allowing law enforcement agencies to hunt irresponsible operators,” a company marketing piece states.
Co-founders Nimo Shkedy and Gilad Beeri tell TechCrunch that the system “detects not just whether or not there is a drone in the area, but what type of drone it is, and the unique ID of that drone – [allowing] users to tell potentially malicious drones apart from those welcome to fly.”
The company also stated in the interview they hope to market ApolloShield to “oil refineries, nuclear facilities, airports, prisons, stadiums or hotels.”
ApolloShield offers add-on’s to its core system such as a signal blocker that can take command of (ironically) drone signal blocker devices — radio jammers – and shut them down; in essence an “anti-anti-drone” system.
Another add-on can integrate other drone-stopping tech, such as net-equipped drone interceptors, into the ApolloShield system.
As drone use grows, many public agencies and companies are seeking anti-drone solutions to keep unmanned aircraft from flying over restricted areas where they could pose a safety hazard or access sensitive data – places like wildfire zones, nuclear power plants, prisons and airports.
The FAA and Defense Department have especially shown an interest in drone stoppers. Earlier this year, the FAA announced a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Gryphon Sensors, Liteye Systems and Sensofusion to deploy drone-sensor prototypes at select airports.
More recently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Tactical Technology Office announced a request for information to help create innovative anti-drone solutions to defend military forces from potential drone threats.
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