How College Students Beat Boeing in a Battle to Take Down Drones

A team of four University of Toronto engineering students made headlines by outperforming major defense contractors—including Boeing—in an anti-drone technology competition. The contest, reported by The Wall Street Journal, featured cutting-edge systems from industry giants alongside innovative upstarts. While Boeing showcased a high-power laser capable of physically disabling drones, the student team’s device used focused sound waves to disrupt drone navigation and control, causing drones to veer off course or fall from the sky.

Despite limited resources, the students’ approach performed exceptionally well, earning them second place among 15 competitors. Their success demonstrated that non-destructive acoustic methods can compete with more conventional counter-drone technologies, offering a potential alternative that avoids kinetic force or radio interference.