How college students beat Boeing in a battle to take down drones
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In an antidrone technology competition earlier this year, Boeing showcased a futuristic laser weapon that can punch a hole straight through a hostile aerial threat. The multinational—and several other defense giants—lost to four college students who knocked drones out of the sky using sound waves.
The rookies’ device was developed in a parent’s backyard using an old car speaker. The students’ success in the technology competition, hosted by the Canadian military, highlights a shifting dynamic in one part of the defense industry. While giant companies have long dominated the weapons business, the advent of drone warfare is giving minnows more of a chance to compete.
Drones used in Ukraine and the Middle East, for example, are often made cheaply with off-the-shelf components by smaller companies or even individuals. Huge demand is prompting governments to cast a wider net for new equipment. In Ukraine, there are more than 200, mainly small, drone makers.
The U.S. and its allies want to foster more companies that develop drones, and ways to defend against them. The four University of Toronto engineering students spent around $17,000 of their own money to develop their antidrone technology.
Their speakerlike device blasts ultrasound waves that destabilize a drone’s navigation systems, sending them off course or crashing to the ground. Now comes the hard part. The newbies want to turn their prototype into battlefield-ready equipment.
They need to raise funds, refine their technology and turn initial interest into orders. “We are building from scratch, we had no reference whatsoever," said Anna Poletaeva, one of the students. The project began over a cup of tea.
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