Past Features
December 20, 2017
Is a Virtual Border Wall Possible?

American Border Patrol — December 20, 2017
Virtual Border Wall Demonstration set
A special live demonstration of advanced border technology, including SEIDARM and HERMES, will take place at American Border Patrol’s border test range on Saturday, January 13, 2018, between noon and 2 PM. Attendance will be limited to the media and “VIPs” such as elected officials.
ABP will use the SEIDARM sensor system — recently expanded — to send alarms to HERMES drones, which will launch when “people red” is heard by the audience.
The two HERMES will fly — simultaneously in opposite directions — to intercept “suspects” more than one-half mile apart — as they walk north from the border.
After locating and tracking the “suspects” both HERMES will return to base and land — automatically — in front of the media.
A new outdoor TV viewing system will allow the audience to follow all of the action of both drones as they fly to intercept “suspects.”
The new border technology comes in five mile segments that can be linked to cover any length of border. The SEIDARM system is buried and solar powered.
In the final design, HERMES would be housed in silos every five miles that contain a carousel of batteries for swapping when the drone lands.
According to Glenn Spencer, head of ABP, it is theoretically possible for people intending to cross the border to be met with a HERMES before they even try.
“SEIDARM can detect a single person walking five hundred feet south of the border, and at the rate at which people walk — and the drone flies — HERMES could be there waiting for them”, Spencer said.
Spencer said it is also possible for HERMES to include a loud speaker to tell people to go home. “The U.S. Border Patrol is now testing small drones with facial recognition,” he added.
Reservations for the demonstration can be arranged by calling American Border Patrol at (520) 803-7703, or by sending an e-mail to glenn@americanpatrol.com .