Got a pesky personal UAV hovering about your home, just out of broom-swipe reach? Well, before you try to burn it out of the sky, consider a slightly less treasonous option: knocking it out of the sky with the help of an autonomous air wolf, the Rapere.
Though still very much in the concept stages, this UAV-targeting quadcopter is being designed to launch on its own, scan for and identify potential targets, then hover above the offending UAV while dangling a small length of string. One of the target drone’s propulsion fans inhales the string, the target drone crashes to the ground, the Rapere returns to its base station, and then everything’s cool and you can go about the rest of your day.
Or, more likely, the Rapere returns to its base station and you then get to explain to an irate RC pilot (and maybe the cops, depending on what it fell onto) as to why you felt the need to kamikaze his rather expensive toy. But at least then you’ll be able to get an explanation as to why the damn thing was hovering next to your window in the first place. It’s a win-win!
There’s very little flesh to this project yet and who knows if it will even be able to fly given the restrictions that the FAA has set in place for piloted drones — let alone autonomous ones like this. [Rapere via IEEE]