Building a Drone Fence

When it comes to emerging technology that depends on sizable, external forces independent of a team’s ability to execute, we focus on infrastructure investments. Specifically infrastructure that will be core part of the emerging technology regardless of the eventual outcome. For the drone space, we’re unsure of what commercial / consumer adoption or the regulatory landscape will look like. However in any foreseeable permutation, drone security is going to play a major role.

With progressive regulatory road map, commercial operations launching each month and growing consumer adoption, drones are going to play a significant part in our economy. The proliferation of drones will also bring new problems; bad actors operating drones with malicious intent or errant drones causing accidental damage. Technology to prevent these problems will be necessary to wide-spread drone adoption. Without safety measures in place, regulators will be forced to enact tighter restrictions at the point-of-sale. Anywhere with a security fence (hospitals, prisons, airports, stadiums, etc) could be vulnerable and the need for a virtual “drone fence” is clear.

Unfortunately we soon found out the available solutions all fell short:

• Embedded geo-fencing that blocks drone operation within defined areas could be effective against an amateur drone operator. However the technology is easily circumvented and coverage is inconsistent across manufacturers. Even in an ideal scenario within a protected area with a legal drone operator, GPS malfunctions send a drone into a protected area.
• Jamming systems utilize strong GPS or radio signals to overpower an errant drone’s control signals. Useful for accidental drone incidents, drones freeze in midair given the loss of signal. Unfortunately jamming broadcasts incredibly strong GPS or radio signals which have a damaging effect on any nearby device (whether airborne or not) that requires GPS positioning or radio communication.
• Other solutions (physical projectiles, nets, lasers, detection-only or otherwise) could lead to dangerous outcomes in which the drone or pieces of the drone plummet uncontrolled to the earth. Probably the least likely of any of the anti-drone options given there are few locations where flaming wreckage hurtling toward the ground would not be an issue.

When I met Grant Jordan (co-founder of SkySafe) in November of last year, it was exciting to see a new solution that not only creates an effective virtual fence but also seamlessly integrates authorized drone activity. Alongside a great list of investors, we’re excited to see where SkySafe goes next.

As Grant put it best:

“In the end, it’s a classic security question: do you trust the limits imposed by the device itself, or do you build defenses for when those limits don’t stop the threat? The answer is always that you need both.”

Find out more about SkySafe here or reach out to me with any questions (julian@schematicventures.com).