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Amazon awarded anti-hacking protection patent for delivery drones

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, has always maintained that his business is a technology company first and a retailer second. As the e-retailer ramps up its pilotless drone delivery program, the company's latest patent should assuage the concerns of critics that questioned the security of unmanned aerial deliveries. Amazon has now received a patent for technology to give it anti-hacking protection for its drone vehicles, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent, initially filed in 2014, is based on a "mesh network," where several drones talk to one another. The shared data will enable the drones to "to confirm or cross-check data, such as location, heading, altitude and so forth," according to the filing. However, the filing states that the technology's primary purpose is to detect "data differences within the network to determine if a drone has been compromised."

The mesh network can also be encrypted, and Amazon plans to integrate techniques such as "frequency hopping, spread-spectrum and so forth, to maintain security, reduce interference."

The technology might protect Amazon's drone-based delivery service, Prime Air, from digital tampering, however significant regulatory impediments, as well as more rudimentary anti-drone technology, still stand in the way of widespread commercial use.

Amazon actually moved its testing facility to the U.K. because the current U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations forbid the sort of deliveries that the company is developing.

In addition to "line of sight" rules that require that drones remain within the direct view of the pilot-in-command or the drone's visual observer, flights over residential areas are also restricted.

 Current FAA regulations state that drones may not operate over any persons not directly participating in the unmanned aircraft systems flight, "except when those persons are under a covered structure, inside a covered stationary vehicle, or when the FAA grants a specific waiver."  In other words, drone deliveries in cities are still off the table.

Endgadget.com reported the production of an "anti-drone gun" that, while not FAA approved, could be used to take down unmanned aircraft systems that threaten commercial flights around airports. In the wrong hands, far more nefarious uses spring to mind.

What the news also underscores is that drones are inherently vulnerable, and Amazon's latest patent is part of an ongoing struggle to ensure the safety, security, and ultimately, the financial viability of their deliveries.

See the DroneShield DroneGun in action below: