People are inventing amazing ways to stop unwanted drones — here are the best ones yet

Dragan Radovanovic/Business Insider

Responding to the rapid rise of drones, a slew of startups, universities, and defense companies are pioneering technology to detect, deter, or destroy the tiny, remote-controlled flying objects.

Already, uninvited drones have found their way into some of the most sensitive areas in the world, including the grounds of the White House.

There are also a rising number of incidents of airline pilots reporting seeing drones too close for comfort. 

The Federal Aviation Administration has been slow to enact new regulations governing drones, but while there are some rules in place, there is very little existent technology to deal with drones that go where they shouldn't.

Here are some of the best ideas so far. 

Drone-catching drones

Police in Japan already have an "anti-drone squad," Popular Science reported, and their drone-stopping weapon of choice is in fact another drone.

The police-operated drone flies above its target carrying a framed net, tangling up the airborne delinquent and carrying it to safety.

This solution has a particular advantage: it allows police to retrieve the drone if it is carrying a dangerous object or substance.

A drone landed on the roof of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's home carrying a vial of radioactive sand from near the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, making the need to move a trespassing drone to a safe location apparent.

The drone's pilot claimed the act was a protest of the Japanese government's decision to reactivate its nuclear power stations after the incident.

After turning himself in to police, the man was sentenced to two years in prison.

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is developing a technology which can identify, jam, or even take control of a drone electronically. 

The tech is impressive — the proposed system can identify and jam signal bands used by a drone. It can also take control using GPS spoofing or remote control classification, making it the real life equivalent of that famous sci-fi technology: the tractor beam.

It's hard to gauge the cost of such an advanced system, but it will certainly be more expensive than a $59.95 drone from Walmart.

Dutch police are training hawks to grab drones

Not interested in reinventing the wheel, Dutch police are relying on an all-natural solution: birds of prey. 

They're training a variety of hawk and eagle species to intercept and grab drones in midair.

Why a variety? Police have yet to determine which type of raptor is best at the job, but early results are apparently promising.

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