The parade celebrating the Golden State Warriors’ championship win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals will include a security system that can detect rogue drones.
Security at the Warriors’ NBA championship parade can detect rogue drones
The parade route is a “no drone zone.”
Up to two million people are expected to join the festivities in Oakland, Calif., where the police department confirmed that it is working with federal and state law enforcement to secure the event.
The drone detection system in place at the Warriors’ parade is made by Dedrone, an anti-drone security company that sells sensor and camera installations that can alert security personnel when a drone is flying overhead. Dedrone’s system is also used at the Mets’ Citi Field baseball stadium in New York.
“We are requesting that no drones are flown in the area of the parade,” said Officer Johnna Watson, who handles media relations for the Oakland Police Department. Watson said the entire parade route and nearby areas are a “no drone zone” during the event. Police and media helicopters are expected to be flying during the parade, and Watson said there’s concern about keeping those aircraft safe.
Dedrone’s sensors are installed along the parade route. And while the system isn’t designed to take a rogue drone down, it does the hard work of detecting where the small flying robot is, so security on the ground can choose to jam its signal, intercept it or investigate whether or not the drone is a threat. The system can also detect if the drone is capable of carrying a potentially hazardous payload.
Due to security concerns, Dedrone wouldn’t share how many sensors are being installed throughout the parade route. The company did say that its primary concern is the detection of consumer-grade drones, like those made by DJI.
If a drone is detected, Watson said the Oakland Police Department will attempt to notify the operator of the flight restrictions and safety concerns.
When the Warriors won the NBA championship on Monday, fans took to the streets of Oakland and San Francisco to celebrate. Incidents were reported of fans climbing steet lights, setting off fireworks and breakdancing in the middle of Oakland intersections.
The parade starts at 10 am on Thursday; the route is posted on the Warriors’ website.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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