Car companies want protection from drones, and a German company is working on it

Our friends at Engadget tipped us off to the news that Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of phone provider T-Mobile, is working with a few other developers to create a system to defend against drones. According to WeltN24, the German publication that broke the story, Deutsche Telekom is developing the system to keep unwanted drones out of an array of locations, including sports and political venues.

However, the article specifically cites the auto industry as actively searching for a solution to keep drones, and the cameras that most are equipped with, away from their test tracks. Understandably, car companies don't like the idea of people sneaking a peek of next year's model from a few hundred feet up, clear of trees and fences. Automakers in the US do have some legal protection thanks to FAA guidelines concerning privacy. Because of legal reasons such as this, at least one prominent spy photographer told us he has no plans to use a drone for spy photography. Still, is there any doubt that there are plenty of unscrupulous people who would ignore the rules?

According to WeltN24, it sounds as though there's still progress to be made, but what exists is impressive. One of the companies participating in the project is the American company Dedrone, which demonstrated its Dronetracker system for Deutsche Telekom. The Dronetracker can pinpoint the location of a drone more than half a mile away, and was most recently used by the Las Vegas police department at the last presidential debate. The system isn't cheap at roughly $275,000, but for a major car company, it may be well worth the extra security.