Drones are increasingly being used to get contraband into prisons. Adept drone pilots can deliver the contraband to designated cell windows or pre-designated drop of points with ease. Until now the solutions to stop these aerial deliveries have proved difficult and labour intensive.

PDA Electronics Ltd have introduced a new system called REPULSE®

This system produces unique interference signals on both 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz. This creates a bubble that extends over 1km in front of the unit. In effect, it creates an electronic ‘no-fly zone’ which will defeat all commercially available drones attempts to penetrate it. Any drone entering this field will be immediately “repulsed” and the drone is forced to return to its take-off point. This enables areas, such as prisons, to be fully protected against the wide range of commercially available drones. Unlike many other solutions, the Repulse system is designed for continuous operation and therefore offers a 24/7 protection.

Until now authorities have tried to protect areas of concern by using Geo-fencing which involves identifying areas as no fly zones on the electronic mapping the drones use. However, it only took a matter of hours to find a software method of removing all these geo-fenced areas from the mapping the drones use. All UK prisons having been geo-fenced by drone manufacturers in their flight mapping.

An alternative to the software map hack method is to place aluminium foil over the top of the drone body to prevent the reception of GPS signals. This method makes the drone more difficult to control as there is no automatic correction due to wind issues.

Given the number of prison establishments still being targeted by drones it would seem that the criminals have already discovered these techniques. 

In some countries the emphasis has been on detecting drones but what use is that? Knowing that a threat is coming still doesn’t deal with the problem. It’s like having a camera in your house and you watch a criminal enter your property and ransack it. The only real solution is area denial protection.  

When installed in a prison, the system just operated 24/7 preventing any kind of drone incursions and allows staff to ignore the drone threat and to carry on with their other duties.

For permanent 24/7 deployment, the Repulse 160 is ideal with its versatile mounting assembly. The fully weatherproof enclosure is powered by a small 12VDC power supply. Its’s low emissions levels are specially designed so as not cause interference to anyone using a WIFI systems in nearby housing or offices yet maximise the exclusion zone to all types of commercial drones. This allows installation and operation in even the most congested urban areas.

For more information about Drones and Geo-fencing please visit www.pdaelectronics.com