The Dutch police are reportedly working with a company called 'Guard From Above', or a translation of that name, to train eagles who can recognise drones and then snatch it with its talons. The eagle then deposits the drone in a space away from civilians. In a specific example, posted to YouTube, the eagle picks out a DJI model, and does so apparently quite effectively.
The police are also working on other methods to take a drone out of the sky, including hacking the drone and simply using a net, or some combination of both, but say the eagle potentially gives them more flexibility once the machine is recovered.
Sadly the police admit in the video that they may require a better way to protect the bird's strong, but hardly rotor-proof talons from being damaged when taking down the drones. On the other hand, eagles in the wild have also shown a natural inclination to attack drones on sight, as have hawks, rams and chimps -- so it might not be the most terrible idea, if the animal's safety can be guaranteed.
The police are also working on other methods to take a drone out of the sky, including hacking the drone and simply using a net, or some combination of both, but say the eagle potentially gives them more flexibility once the machine is recovered.
Sadly the police admit in the video that they may require a better way to protect the bird's strong, but hardly rotor-proof talons from being damaged when taking down the drones. On the other hand, eagles in the wild have also shown a natural inclination to attack drones on sight, as have hawks, rams and chimps -- so it might not be the most terrible idea, if the animal's safety can be guaranteed.
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