The concept of building a wall for border control is certainly nothing new – parts of the Great Wall of China were built as early as 771 BC – but some governments are finally updating the concept. Drones will be used as part of a “smart fence” strategy to protect the India-Bangladesh border by next year, the Times of India reports.
India’s Border Security Force (BSF) will deploy surveillance drones and create a “smart fence” as part of an effort to stop smuggling and infiltration across the border by next year.
BSF Director General K K Sharma announced the plan on Wednesday, saying that the agency had received approval of the newly developed smart fence for use at the Dhubri border area along the Brahmaputra river.
“The technology solution will help in checking surprise infiltration and it will also ensure rest and recuperation of troops involved in area domination duties. By October 2018, this project will be in place at Dhubri,” the Times of India quotes Sharma.
The smart fence is being built as a solution to dealing with illegal human and cattle smuggling. The river makes construction of permanent structures in the area impractical. Human border guards are unable to adequately police the border, and gunfire between guards and smugglers has resulted in numerous deaths.
The BSF will deploy 4 surveillance drones to provide air cover and work with the smart fence’s system of infrared rays to detect motion. A control room will be alerted of illegal movement across the border by satellite-based signals, which will trigger a ground response.
India’s government hopes that the new technology solution will help to limit the number of deaths of smugglers and illegal immigrants and help to maintain the relationship between the two countries.
“The relations between the two countries are very good. The moment we change the present strategy (of using non-lethal weapons), more killings take place. It is detrimental to the interest of both the countries and we don’t want to embarrass the other side,” said Sharma.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
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