Autonomous System Captures Intruding Drones with a Net: the AUDROS cUAS System

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M Crosby

The AUDROS system, a drone solution that captures foreign drones in a net, has completed successfully testing in the Czech Republic.

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As opposed to other interception systems, which operate by shooting down or electrically paralyzing the intruding drone, the AUDROS (AUtonomous DROne System) solution provides a fully safe alternative that poses no risk to people or property in the removal of its target. The tests were conducted using Fly4Future’s Eagle One drone, which would take off from its docking station after detecting the presence of an unwanted drone. Upon approaching a foreign drone, Eagle One releases a net from its chassis to capture the intruder.

Rather than having to land after completing the first capture, the system is able to continue its mission, acting immediately upon detecting a second target. The autonomous system is controlled and managed by artificial intelligence, allowing for minimal human intervention. The artificial intelligence estimates the foreign drone’s size, weight, and chance of capture.

The AUDROS system utilizes Dronehub’s docking station, in which the drone is permanently housed. The hub’s advanced technology keeps the drone ready for take off, and its used battery is autonomously connected to charging following flight, enabling continuous operations without requiring the operator to replace the battery.

“The autonomy of operations is the future of drone technology,” said Dronehub designer Mateusz Siwula. “Thanks to the use of our hub, the need for the operator’s work is reduced to a minimum, all processes are automated, which translates into the efficiency of the system, its reliability and ease of mission management. In safety-related flights, as in the case of the AUDROS project, reliability and readiness for non-stop flights are key.”

The AUDROS project was conducted by a consortium made up of Czech companies BizGarden, Fly4Future and GINA Software, and Polish company Dronehub and its subsidiary Cervi Robotics, with the participation of Brno’s Military Technical and Research Institutes. The project also worked alongside the Czech prison service, with one of the system’s use cases being the monitoring of airspace above prisons to prevent smuggling.

“Our system can have very wide applications, as threats from the sky are an increasing challenge for security and safety services,” said BizGarden Project Manager Jan Orava. “AUDROS can be used to protect strategic objects or critical infrastructure, it can be used to protect the sky against terrorist attacks during mass events or to ensure the safety of VIPs.”

Implemented in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), the AUDROS project was initiated in 2020 to build a system for intercepting unwanted drones, as well as to develop a system to combat CBRN threats – chemical, biological and radiological.

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.