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animal, animals, author, bird, birds, Drones, Dutch, eagle, eagles, future, nature, News, police, Stephanie Beavers, technology, wildlife, writer
Drones are an increasing problem, cluttering the skies, poking their noses where they shouldn’t be, and getting up to all kinds of mischief. Dutch police have gone back to nature in trying to solve this problem: eagles.
That’s right, these here are drone-killing eagles:
CNN reports: Dutch cops train eagles to hunt drones
Drones are now readily available to the public (and let’s face it, they’re pretty cool). My fiance even has one. I mean, it’s tiny and the battery only lasts about 10 minutes, but still. They’re proliferating. And when they’re getting too close to airports and flight-paths, measures need to be taken to protect the more important objects hurtling through the air – you know, the ones carrying people.
There is technology that “detects radio signals from rogue drones and uses tracking technology to force the drone to land,” which is pretty cool, even though it’s only in the research stage. But we all know as software improves, some drones will become impervious to that.
CNN lists some other countermeasures:
Countermeasures cited in the report included signal jamming, lasers, and the deployment of missiles, rockets and bullets, where it’s acknowledged there is high risk of collateral damage, and potential for “catastrophic damage” if they miss their target.
But eagles are pretty awesome. Let’s hear it for more eagles. Because what could possibly go wrong?
Stephanie Beavers 