US 10,044,465 B1 · Adaptively disrupting unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

A technique for adaptively disrupting UAVs detects a target UAV using a camera, monitors the target UAV's communications using a directional antenna aligned with the camera, and attempts to communicate with the target UAV to request that it land, fly away, or return to launch. With the camera trained on the UAV, the directional antenna detects down-link signals from the UAV, which the UAV may employ to communicate with a ground-based controller. Control circuitry analyzes the down-link signals and generates a disrupting signal based thereon. The disrupting signal shares characteristics with the down-link signal, such as its protocol, bit rate, and/or packet length. The directional antenna transmits the disrupting signal back toward the UAV to affect the UAV's flight.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for disrupting operation of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), using a system that includes:

a pointing stage;
a camera attached to the pointing stage, the camera having an optical axis;
a set of directional antennas attached to the pointing stage and aligned with the optical axis of the camera;
RF (Radio Frequency) circuitry, coupled to the set of directional antennas;
and
control circuitry, coupled to the pointing stage, the camera, and the RF circuitry,
the method comprising:
identifying a target UAV based upon image data acquired from the camera;
with the set of directional antennas oriented toward the target UAV, detecting a set of down-link signals from the target UAV via the set of directional antennas;
analyzing the set of down-link signals;
generating a disrupting signal based on analyzing the set of down-link signals, the disrupting signal including a pattern that shares a set of characteristics with the set of down-link signals, the characteristics including both a modulation modality and a bit rate of the set of down-link signals;
and
transmitting the disrupting signal toward the target UAV via the set of directional antennas.

10 more elements

An apparatus for disrupting operation of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), the apparatus comprising:

a pointing stage;
a camera attached to the pointing stage, the camera having an optical axis;
a set of directional antennas attached to the pointing stage and aligned with the optical axis of the camera;
RF circuitry, coupled to the set of directional antennas;
and
control circuitry, coupled to the pointing stage, the camera, and the set of directional antennas via the RF circuitry, the control circuitry constructed and arranged to:
identify a target UAV based upon image data acquired from the camera;
with the set of directional antennas oriented toward the target UAV, detect a set of down-link signals from the target UAV via the set of directional antennas;
analyze the set of down-link signals;
generate a disrupting signal based on analyzing the set of down-link signals, the disrupting signal including a pattern that shares a set of characteristics with the set of down-link signals, the characteristics including both a modulation modality and a bit rate of the set of down-link signals;
and
transmit the disrupting signal toward the UAV via the set of directional antennas.

9 more elements

A computer program product including a set of non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions which, when executed by control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to perform a method of disrupting operation of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), the method comprising:

identifying a target UAV based upon image data acquired from a camera;
detecting a set of down-link signals from the target UAV via a set of directional antennas oriented toward the target UAV and aligned with the camera;
analyzing the set of down-link signals;
generating a disrupting signal based on analyzing the set of down-link signals, the disrupting signal including a pattern that shares a set of characteristics with the set of down-link signals, the characteristics including both a modulation modality and a bit rate of the set of down-link signals;
and
transmitting the disrupting signal toward the target UAV via the set of directional antennas.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Adaptively disrupting unmanned aerial vehicles

Life of this patent

Adaptively disrupting unmanned aerial vehicles

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20