It was an idea which stemmed from the cancellation of flights at London's Gatwick Airport following reports of drone sightings close to the runway in 2018.
The airport was closed for 30 hours, disrupting 1,000 flights and more than 140,000 passengers. One affected passenger began to give the whole episode some thought.
Three years later that same passenger, a Glasgow university graduate, has developed a counter-drone project and set up his own business to take this further.
And it has caught the attention of major investors. Joe Gibson pitched his project to Gabriel Investments, a Scottish business angel syndicate, and even had the counter-drone model sitting on an iron board when he held Zoom meetings with the them.
Founded by the electronic and electrical engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde, Gibson Robotics will receive a total £217,000.
Established in 2020, the company is developing drones to protect airspace from an aerial threat.
Its high-speed drones physically capture other drones in a net after being launched by a catapult and monitored by a human operator.
Led by Gabriel Investment Syndicate, the funding round also includes support from Scottish Enterprise, Strathclyde Inspire: Entrepreneurs Fund (SEIF), the University of Strathclyde’s dedicated early-stage investment fund, and two private investors.
The funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of its products and drones which could be deployed in many situations. They could potentially be used for surveillance, such as anti-piracy operations in merchant ship waters.
Mr Gibson said: “This is the first major investment we have had and it’s a real boost to the business at a key point in its development. It will allow the company to expand the team and move forward.
"I realised there was a need for an effective counter-drone three years ago while I was still a student - a flight I took from Gatwick was delayed by a drone. I started to think about how easy it is for a drone to do significant damage with little effort.”
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Currently airports faced with malicious drones can only wait for the device to run out of battery.
Mr Gibson, originally from Inverclyde, went through the pitching process entirely online, showing off his giant model counter-drone sitting on an ironing board in the background during the video calls.
Gill MacAulay, Director at Gabriel Investment Syndicate, which specialises in funding high-risk business ventures with promising commercial potential, said: “We were really impressed with Joe’s concept, not to mention his drive and determination to succeed.
"Gabriel is quite unique in that we don’t only provide financial support, the young companies in which we invest also receive a great deal of mentoring and expertise and experience from our business angels.
"Our syndicate is adept at enabling fledgling businesses to take their ideas from the drawing board to a physical product, ready to be tested on the market."
Olga Kozlova, Director of Innovation and Industry Engagement at the University of Strathclyde added: “The University is a hotbed of entrepreneurial talent and Gibson Robotics is prime example of a young company with a potentially exciting future.
"We are pleased to be working with Gabriel to allow Joe and his team to bring its first product to market.
"This new round of funding will be used to rapidly progress the technology development of the company’s counter-drone system.”
Jan Robertson, Interim Director of Growth Investments at Scottish Enterprise stated: “We’re committed to supporting young Scottish businesses that are developing innovative products with potential international appeal. Gibson Robotics definitely ticks those boxes and we look forward to working with Joe to turn his idea into a commercial reality.”
A couple arrested over the Gatwick Airport drone chaos yesterday said Sussex Police's failure to publish a key report into the incident shows the force is trying to protect its reputation rather than stand up to public scrutiny.
Nobody has ever been charged over the hugely disruptive episode in the run up to Christmas 2018, when dozens of flights were grounded amid sightings of drones flying near the runways.
An independent review into what happened during the chaotic incident was commissioned by Sussex Police but has never been published.
The PA news agency submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for a copy of the report a year ago in June 2020 but the force has so far failed to release the document or officially respond to the request.
After months of saying a redacted version of the report was being prepared, Sussex Police now says it is applying part of the FOI Act that exempts information "held with a view to future publication without setting a date".
Paul and Elaine Gait, who were detained after armed police swooped on their home, received a £200,000 settlement and an apology from the force last year after settling their claims for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
The Crawley couple said the failure to supply them with a copy of the independent report is the same "high-handed attitude" shown by Sussex Police at the time of their arrest.
They said it is "far from clear" that a similar incident will not happen again.
Sussex Police said it regretted the delay in responding to the FOI request - which remains outstanding - and that an investigation is under way.
However it declined to confirm when - or if - a suitably redacted version of the independent report will be published.
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