ZoneAware

Some #FridayFun - New to the #CUAS scene is the "Mclroy C2 Effector", a human launched golf ball effector with unparalleled accuracy in taking down nuisance drones around golf courses! 😂 https://lnkd.in/ekXx5YMi

It was great to speak at the "Protecting Critical Infrastructure" counter-UAS conference last week hosted by BATTLESPACE PUBLICATIONS at Chepstow Military Race Day. I discussed the growing challenges of securing critical national infrastructure #CNI, mass public events and festivals from drones. How #CUAS solutions can be employed to deliver safety and protection in real time using existing security teams. Plus the practical impact of Martyn's Law the new Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill that is making its way through the House of Commons. There were excellent insights from a wider range of speakers including Ukrainian envoy Denis D., Ian Cameron-Mowat, and SPX Technologies. #MilitaryRaceDay Arena Racing Company #Chepstow #MartynsLaw

There is blanket media coverage on this drugs issue at HMP Garth in the UK today - https://lnkd.in/eA9RyTiH The challenge for prisons and CUAS suppliers are several: - Budgets are incredibly tight for plugging gaps, organised crime is way ahead of the game and have very capable drones and systems to deliver contraband to inmates. - The existing military-grade counter drones equipment in the market is designed to work with effectors in the battlefield. Hardware costs are exorbitant. Even if you have one of the military systems, they are too few to make a difference. - It is illegal to fire a jammer in the UK unless you are trained police or military. Collateral damage to all sorts of communications infrastructure is likely. - Many CUAS systems rely heavily on RF (Radio Frequency) detection, whereas the drone manufacturers are moving to 4G/5G guidance so spotting RF will be a challenge and cyber jacking will be less effective. This leaves cameras and radars as the top means of detection. - The best chance to find and stop the illegal activity is to find the operator, to get convictions. Or to track the drones in real time and use that intelligence inside and outside the prisons estates to combat the problem. #Drones #Prisons #drugs #HMPP #LabourGovernment #CUAS

In the latest BATTLESPACE PUBLICATIONS Magazine, our CEO Chris Rogers discusses the rising drone threat on public safety at events. Plus he assesses the impact that the new Martyn's Law legislation will have on managing security at medium and large scale events, festivals and race meets across the UK. Read the article for more! Thank you WH Management Group and Crowd Angel for the commentary! https://lnkd.in/eed4m_C9 #UKfestivals #crowdsafety #eventsafety #martynslaw #F1 #Horseracing

Our CEO, Chris Rogers, will be speaking at the BATTLESPACE PUBLICATIONS event on 'Protecting CNI and Events' at Chepstow next week. For anyone attending this event or the subsequent Military Race Day, we look forward to meeting you there!

Over 1,063 drone incursions were spotted over UK prisons last year but the number is likely much much higher by now, according to the Ministry of Justice UK. Organised crime has taken control of this means of contraband delivery as highlighted by the The Guardian. The governor of HMP Manchester has described this as a "massive problem" and MOJ has admitted that they struggle to keep up with well funded gangs and ever more capable technology but are looking at steps to combat the challenge. At ZoneAware we aim to make a difference with our accessible counterUAS solution. https://lnkd.in/ejZ2GiUC #prisons #CUAS #counterdrone #HMPP

A drone being used for content creation was crashed by what looks like a pilot error. While it appears the media were operating under the right Federal Aviation Administration rules, this highlights the need to have control of airspace and will shine a light on the event preparations and flight planning. Larger and heavier commercial drones delivering pictures for broadcasting can cause damage in this case injuring several. https://lnkd.in/efSZ_KjD #dronecrash #droneincident

Over the weekend, several people sent me this The Times article on the fight for survival in #Ukraine entitled, "We reinvent anti-drone weapons every month. If we don’t, we die". It focused on RF detection and jamming signals. This is the perfect example of the cat and mouse game being played out in warzones that can then impact the civilian market for drones. RF is needed for the guidance and the video signals to target / fly.   Drones were originally developed to operate on RF (Radio Frequency) in visual line of sight by the operators. This wifi signal is now under constant attacks to defend against drones in theatre. As a result this has already evolved the guidance of drone manufacturers and drones to stay ahead of the curve. Who will buy a drone that can be defeated easily or is not up to date in terms of the ability to fly it at distance when beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) is in place for drone services soon?    The drone guidance development cycles have seen the use of all RF spectrums, fibre optic cables, GPS and a switch to 4G to maintain the edge. Our team estimates that by the end of 2025 very few consumer drones will remain on RF either.       Why does this matter? A lot of the current #CUAS market leaders lean heavily into RF detection. RF is the more advantageous angle to exploit if you can technically (as opposed to radars due to cost and complexity) as support to visual camera detection. So if drones are using GPS and 4G/5G and not RF how are you going to spot them?    At ZoneAware, we saw this shift coming and designed a civilian CUAS solution in just 5 months that is lightweight, simple to use and cost effective for a range of uses. Our solution focuses on a mesh of cameras and RF for drone tracking and for finding the pilot. We use RF at the point of take off only as, despite the other changes, ground to hover will remain on RF for sometime to come. It will be a very interesting year or two as drone and counter drone evolutions play out. We are proving that the UK #startup industry can move at speed to adapt to the multiple civil challenges posed by drones to people, assets and events. https://lnkd.in/ekqea8wW Chris B. Steve Pomfret #counterdrone #eventsafety #counterUAS #drones

With the increase in state sponsored espionage highlighted by MI5 in the UK recently. Ports and shipyards all over the world are tightening up their airspace security. https://lnkd.in/egTtmQPj #CUAS #port #shipyards #shipbuilding

ZoneAware was proud to have been invited to 'CORE', a Counter UAS Capability Optimisation Research Environment (CORE) event. Hosted by the UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the event was geared towards advancing AI-assisted detect, track, and identify (DTI) technologies.   CEO, Chris Rogers said, "We have showcased our accessible CUAS solution and undertaken live development of our unique AI classification solution during flight testing on a range of drone scenarios and drone capabilities and models. The team were given access to national security and defence advisers and critical infrastructure leaders from a range of organisations that keep people safe both in the UK, the US and Canada. We received great feedback and advice at our stage of development and we look forward to continuing the relationships we have made at the event."    #CUAS #security #defencetech #civilsecurity #AI #computervision #counterdrone