Send a drone!
What are the (im)possibilities within the security world?

“A drone is a laptop that can fly” or “a robot for outdoor applications”.
We heard these definitions a while ago.
In any case, a drone is an unmanned aircraft that you can do all kinds of things with – combined with, for example, cameras or sensors.
Data collection, for example.
Drones are the future.
Also in the security world.
Or is it? Drones come in all shapes, sizes, and price ranges.
The applications are endless.
You may be familiar with the bird-shaped drones that are used at airports to scare away birds or to prevent them from nesting on or around the runways.
In Africa, drones are sometimes life-saving; There, they bring blood and plasma to remote hospitals.
In the Netherlands, too, various companies and innovation hubs are devising and developing new applications at a rapid pace.
What about drones that inspect or maintain hard-to-reach objects (such as wind turbine blades), drones that transport organs, medicines or an AED or drones that (accurately) spray crops or spray them with pesticides.
The application possibilities of drones are endless.
It is even predicted that – in Europe – there will soon be more drones in the sky than airplanes.

Drones increase safety

Drones can also be used to increase safety.
This is already happening on a small scale.
For example, the Netherlands Fire Service has now been granted an exemption to fly drones in places and at times where others are not allowed to.
This year, the fire brigade will train new drone employees and aim for no fewer than seven drone teams.
Drones will be used to detect, monitor and fight fires.
Equipped with a thermal imaging camera, the drones can find the hotspots (heat sources) and equipped with specific sensors they can also detect hazardous substances or gases.
Drones can also (in addition to existing security measures) verify alarm messages or provide overview images of a situation.
After an alarm notification, the drone flies automatically (based on coordinates) or controlled by a drone pilot to the location of the incident.
As a result, the follow-up of an incident can take place faster and more targeted (i.e. more effectively), so that any damage is limited or even prevented.
Recently, during the shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, the DSI (Special Interventions Service) used drones to get a good picture of the situation on the ground.

Drones as a threat

Unfortunately, drones also bring new risks.
With a drone equipped with an explosive charge or toxic substance, malicious actors can launch attacks that would otherwise not be possible.
Drones can also be used for spying or in preparation for an attack.
After all, drones are not bothered by fencing.
They can also get to higher floors, fly over guards, and easily stay out of sight of the traditional security cameras that are usually not pointed at the sky.
Unfortunately, there are already some examples of drone attacks.
Last year, for example, Venezuelan President Maduro was attacked by several drones with explosives during a public speech (he survived the attack – ed.).
And in December 2018, a drone over England’s Gatwick airport even grounded thousands of flights.

Anti-drone solutions

These types of attacks and threats require good counter-measures, such as drone detection systems or birds that have been trained to take a drone out of the air.
But what do you do with a detected drone if it contains an explosive?
More important than taking the drone out of the air is finding the drone pilot and the equipment that controls the drone.
DJI, a major manufacturer in the drone industry, developed a scanner that scans the signal on which drones are flying and can filter out the so-called ‘go-home’ signal.
This would allow the location of the pilot to be found.
However, really good anti-drone solutions are lacking.
There is still a lot of (important) work to be done in this area.
Critics even argue that it is better to stop developing new drone applications until there are also enough effective anti-drone solutions.