UK companies developing anti-drone systems
Blighter Surveillance Systems, Chess Dynamics, and Enterprise Control Systems, are building an Anti-UAV Defence System (Auds), which will transmit radio signals at the drone, jamming the system causing it to become unresponsive. The concept is similar to mobile phone blockers that flood phone frequencies which are﻿ used to transmit calls. As the amount of consumer drones increase, the security and safety risks are increasing, meaning companies are developing new anti-drone technology to keep them away from airports, public events or high security buildings. 

The Auds system, which is being developed by three UK-based firms. Blighter Surveillance Systems / Flickr

Three UK firms are working on a device that can "freeze" a consumer drone in mid-air making the owner believe it is unresponsive, the BBC reports.

The Anti-UAV Defence System (Auds) is being developed by Blighter Surveillance Systems, Chess Dynamics, and Enterprise Control Systems, and works by transmitting a radio signal at a drone that then jams the system, causing unresponsiveness.

"There are a number of frequency bands that are used by all of the manufacturers," Paul Taylor of Enterprise Control Systems told the BBC. "There's quite a lot of radio power [directed] on to the UAV — so much so that it can only hear our Auds signal."

It's a similar principle to cell phone blockers, which flood the frequencies used by phones to transmit calls, rendering them temporarily useless for communicating.

Hobbyists flying drones into restricted airspace, such as airports, is becoming more and more of a problem. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is receiving over 100 reports per day from pilots of drones within a five-mile radius of their aircraft.

There are also military applications for the Auds technology being developed. As drones become a much larger fixture in warfare, efforts to develop the ability to render them useless are growing. The US Army is developing a system to fire projectiles at drones to damage them. Boeing has also developed a compact laser system that can destroy a drone in a matter of seconds.