Drones and robotics are moving from niche capability to mainstream security tools—and at the same time, they’re creating entirely new attack paths for adversaries. In this episode of the ASIAL Security Insider Podcast, we speak with Deborah Evans (Edith Cowan University) about where unmanned systems and robotics are heading, what’s already in use across security and law enforcement, and what the industry must do to prepare. 

We discuss current developments in UAVs and other Unmanned Systems (UxS) and robotics, the pace-setting influence of China and the United States, and how modern conflict—especially Ukraine/Russia—is driving rapid innovation, adaptability, and proliferation.

From a practical security operations lens, we explore what’s likely to be adopted next: more persistent surveillance and patrol, disaster response, and environmental monitoring, enabled by higher-level data analytics and increasingly autonomous systems. We also look further ahead at emerging capabilities such as micro and nano systems, swarming, and the evolution of Counter-UAS (C-UAS)—including detection methods and the trade-offs between kinetic, non-kinetic, and hybrid defeat approaches.

Finally, we address the issues that will shape real-world adoption: preparedness, regulation, social and national security concerns, and why the security industry must lead proactively, accept measured crossover from military development, and invest intelligently in C-UAS readiness.

Key topics covered

• UAV/UxS and robotics: what’s real right now
• Security use cases: surveillance, patrol, SAR, law enforcement support
• How drones are being used to defeat security and policing
• What’s next: autonomy + analytics + scale
• Swarms, micro/nano systems, and autonomous weapons implications
• C-UAS: detection, kinetic vs non-kinetic vs combined approaches
• Regulation, adoption barriers, and what security should do now