Amazon Patents System to Ward Off Drone ‘Hostile Takeover’

Amazon Technologies got a U.S. patent Tuesday for a system of detecting “hostile takeover” of drones and returning them to friendly hands. As drone use increases, "so does the likelihood” of hostile takeovers, said the patent, naming Glen Larsen, an Amazon hardware and systems architect, as its inventor. "Nefarious individuals and/or systems may be able to obtain control” of the drones by hacking communication signals, it said. During normal-operating “mission” mode, the device receives a “heartbeat signal from a controller,” it said. If a preset timer expires without the drone receiving a new heartbeat signal, the device automatically switches into a “safety” mode in which it “performs one or more preprogrammed actions designed to reestablish communication with the controller” or lands safely, said the patent.