On this page we will attempt to capture some of the information that pertains to microwave engineering in drones. If you have any content, please send it. Thanks to Hadrien, for sharing the signal hunter video!
The word "drone" will probably be replaced with something else in a few years, everything is changing rapidly. Drones can be small and cheap, or large, expensive and terrifying. There is already an argument over the difference between a drone and a UAV. Why would you pronounce a three syllable word instead of a single syllable that rolls off your tongue? We are way too impatient to say UAV here...
Here's a cool video on "signal hunting" with a drone. Ten years ago, or even five, this would not be possible. What will be possible in ten more years? Becca and Luke are the awesome hosts of the video, we think it is great that no tired old white guys were employed in this endeavor. Bravo!
Anritsu's signal-hunting drone
Drones often use GPS for location. Radar, lidar, video are used as sensors to find obstacles. How about jamming enemy drones with RF? Here's a video from Battelle, on their DroneDefender(TM), that jams GPS and ISM frequencies. If you are hoping for a spectacular drone crash, you will be disappointed. But all the Barney Fifes that are guarding big businesses will soon have a new toy. At least it contains no bullets.
DroneDefender(TM)
The DroneDefender clearly has a helix antenna, you can see it in the video. What's that large wedge shaped thing under it? Could it be a Yagi antenna, covered with a radome? If you clicked those links you would see that there is a hole in the Microwaves101 fabric around those two topics. We don't want your money, but please consider contributing some content!
Battelle is an interesting company, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The Battelle family history includes an a minister/abolitionist, a millionaire/industrialist, and a suffragette. Battelle was founded after the death of only-child Gordon Battelle in 1923 at the age of 40, who strongly believed that science can solve industry problems. Gordon's will set aside $1.5M for the Battelle Memorial Institute, which was focused on metallurgy at first. Today, Battelle is an enormous enterprise, and runs several of the United States' national laboratories. Why would you leave your money to your spoiled kids when you can do great things with it?
Battelle Memorial Institute
Here's a European company that is also working on "Dronicide": MC2 is a small company with a big weapon they call the UAV scrambler. Check out the two helix antennas (and chack out our page on helix antennas, contributed by Hadrien) for different bands, there is a third one in that white cylinder with the SMA cable connecting to it. The three bands are should be obvious to microwave engineers:
- GPS (1,5 GHz) the longest spiral antenna
- ISM (2,4 GHz) the other spiral
- ISM (5,8 GHz) inside that tube
Other specs for this weapon can be found here. Here is MC2's website news page, and a link to BFM-TV's article on this technology. You might need Google translate it for you, just right-click on the page. Hey, it looks like someone might have dropped the dropped that rifle, the 5.8 GHz antenna seems to be pointing below the other two...
DUAV Scrambler
For December 2017, here's an update from Oscar, who points out a newer version of the MC2's UAV Scrambler, and a new photo:
MC2-Technologies specializes in the characterization, modeling and design of microwave components and devices. The company offers a high value-added service, a range of microwave amplifiers up to 220GHz and more complex systems that have recently made its name. Preparing for the rising threat of drones, MC2-Technologies developed a portable device able to obstruct the telecommunication protocols between a drone and its remote control.
Two systems were developed:
- The UAV Scrambler 300: a portable device able to neutralize drones over 1000 feet.
- The UAV Scrambler 1000: a fix device which can jam all telecommunication frequencies on greater distances.
The devices are efficient against frequency hopping. Moreover, the expertise of MC2 enables to perform an optimal scrambling in the strictly desired bandwidth.