Scientist's warning for events after creating drone 'capable of hunting people'

14 March 2024 , 13:09

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Drones could one day be used as weapons at major events (Image: Getty Images)

A scientist has warned major events could be at risk of strikes from drones capable of “hunting people” - and built one to show how easy it could be.

Engineer Luis Wenus built an AI system into a small drone which was capable of chasing unsuspecting people on the ground. Chillingly, he revealed it was “super easy” to build and even add weapons capable of firing explosives. In a thread on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said he expects terrorists to use similar weaponised drones in the next decade. Currently, there are no defences capable of stopping such an aerial attack.

Luis wrote: “There are no anti-drone systems for big events & public spaces yet. I was also able to add face recognition to it, and only make it attack someone it knew who was, it could easily identify the person from 10 meters distance. My bet is we will see some sort of terror attack using this type of tech within the next few years. You still need some technical knowledge to build this now, but it becomes easier and easier.

"We need to build anti-drone systems for civilian spaces asap. I'm usually an open-source absolutist, but I will not post for now, it's honestly super easy to code but no point enabling.” The tweet caught the attention of Elon Musk who agreed it would be a simple effort to create the weapon. He replied: “It is alarmingly easy.”

Earlier a leading futurologist revealed how tech will change sport, with AI training sessions, micro-technology skin implants, and Star Wars-style pod racing. Dr Ian Pearson, who has more than 1,800 inventions to his name – including text messaging – has predicted what innovations we can expect in sport in the coming decades.

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The new tech could enable athletes to improve their performance and give fans the ultimate viewing experience – and wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi blockbuster -and it's not just sports participants who will benefit from the enhancements. Dr Pearson, who has partnered with 888 Sport to share his insights, believes fans will be able to wear special glasses at sports events, which display real-time stats and allow them to zoom in on the action. Some gadgets are even likely to be commonplace within the next couple of years – including Star Wars-style pod racing, which we can expect to see in 2025.

Antony Clements-Thrower