In an effort to keep civilian drones out of unwanted areas, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is now using bigger drones with nets attached to thwart unmanned vehicles operating in sensitive areas.
According to the Tokyo authorities, any drone which flies into restricted air space and fails to comply with police requests to leave will be captured, reports PetaPixel. The new regulation goes into effect in February 2016.
Meanwhile, Tokyo police are testing out the six-propeller drones, each outfitted with a 2-by-3-meter net, on practice vehicles. These larger machines chase after their intended target, catching the offending drone's propellers in the net. The goal of this measure is to defend important and sensitive locations which may be spied upon, as well as eliminating the possibility of explosion-rigged terrorist drones.
If that sounds like a little much, the Japanese do, in fact, have cause for concern, as 40-year-old citizen Yasuo Yamamoto managed to fly a drone carrying radioactive sand onto Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's roof in April in protest of the country's nuclear energy policy, reports Asian Correspondent.
As a result of the incident, drones are now banned from 81 municipal parks in Tokyo out of concern for children's safety. The latest regulations also ban drone flights near airports and in densely populated areas. Violators of Tokyo's drone laws will face a fine of up to 500,000 yen (US$4,158).
Have a look at the giant drones in action below:
[Photo via Flickr user Day Donaldson]
