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Going Above and Beyond the Drone Swarms in New Jersey

Updated: Jan 26


swarm of drones flying over a city

It's been a few weeks since ALL those sightings of drones in New Jersey.


People are asking…

What’s all the commotion?

Why all the sightings of “drones”?

Was it a diversion?


Whatever the reason… it has brought a lot of attention to drones (and the drone industry) for good or for bad. It looks like the president elect will address these concerns on his first full day in office.


There have been quite a few articles/posts written with speculation as to what it was all about. Let’s try something different and put a spin on the recent past invasion of drones in the northeast by having a look at “swarm” technology.


What does the future hold for UAS swarm technology, in both opportunities and challenges.


A little background information.


What is a drone? It’s an Uncrewed Aerial System that ranges in size from an inch (think, Aerius) to a wingspan of 131 feet (think, RQ-4 Global Hawk). Uncrewed, as in not having a pilot on board the aerial system.


SWARM is the technology that coordinates anywhere from three and potentially up to thousands of drones to perform a programmed mission from a ground station, or, through advanced methods influenced by the behavior of birds and insects through AI that teaches the swarm to respond to the changing environment with real time data sharing. This advanced technology is at its infancy with the advent of 5G and 6G networks with their high-speed data transfers.


Information sharing is at the core of swarm operations. Failure to communicate can lead to collisions and loss of capabilities.


The U.S. Government classifies three categories of swarm control:

  • Centralized, where there is a PIC (pilot in command) controlling the drones

  • Decentralized (semi-autonomous), where there is a PIC controlling the primary drone where it and the other drones interact between themselves

  • Decentralized (fully autonomous) where there is no PIC, and the drones interact between themselves, aka AI


How do drones collect, share and communicate information among themselves? At the Decentralized levels, through Machine Learning, which is the ability for drones to see and navigate complex environments autonomously. This requires a large amount of data to train the algorithms. Drones would use this information to collect and share information about the mission. The higher speeds of 5G/6G allows faster processing which in turn allows faster decision making.


There is still a lot to be learned before drones go totally autonomous (with no guidance from a ground station) where swarms begin making decisions amongst themselves.


Let’s take a look at some of the good and bad aspects of swarms.


The good:

  • Search and Rescue

    • Disaster response

    • Firefighting

  • Agriculture

    • planting and seeding

    • pollination

  • Logistics and Delivery

    • Package delivery

    • Medical supplies

  • Infrastructure Inspection

    • Energy Sector

    • Construction Sites

  • Entertainment

    • Filmmaking

    • Light Shows

  • Environmental Monitoring

    • Urban Planning and Development

    • Traffic Monitoring

    • 3D Mapping

  • Security and Surveillance

    • Border Patrol

    • Event Security

  • Mining and Resource Exploration

    • Surveying

    • Material Transport


The bad:

  • Privacy Concerns

    • Mass Surveillance

    • Data Misuse

  • Security Risks

    • Hacking and Cyberattacks

    • Espionage

  • Environmental Impact

    • Wildlife Disturbance

    • Potential Collisions

  • Ethical and Legal Challenges

    • Weaponization

    • Accountability

    • Regulatory Uncertainty

  • Public Safety Hazards

    • Overcrowded Airspace

    • Accidents

  • Potential for Abuse

    • Disruption

    • Terrorism

  • Psychological Effects

    • Fear and Distrust

    • Desensitization


With the increase in technology we will see an increase in what drone swarms are capable of. As can be seen from the above lists, there is potential good and bad for the same sectors. While the potential of drone swarms is vast, addressing these challenges is essential to ensure their safe, ethical, and effective integration into society.


Many articles have been written about the need to address this technology without giving any real answers. What are your thoughts on actions that could be taken to ensure drone swarm technologies operate safely?

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