Drone radar database made public for UAV hunters. We measured drone radar cross sections at multiple 26-40GHz millimetre-wave frequencies to better understand how drones can be detected, and to investigate the difference between drone models and materials in terms of scattering radio signals,” said researcher Vasilii Semkin of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. “We believe that our results will be a starting point for a future uniform drone database. Therefore, all results are publicly available along with our research paper.” – which is ‘Analyzing radar cross section signatures of diverse drone models at mmWave frequencies‘, published by the IEEE.
It is hoped that, alongside assisting with the development of radar, the data will enable machine learning algorithms to make more subtle identifications – towards this, more measurements are to be added.
“We are developing millimetre-wave wireless communication technology, which could also be used in sensing the environment like a radar. With this technology, 5G-base stations could detect drones, among other things,” according to Professor Ville Viikari of Aalto University, which worked alongside VTT with Catholic University of Louvain and New York University.
Nine drones were measured, as well as a lithium-ion polymer battery.
- DJI Phantom 4 Pro
- DJI F450
- DJI Mavic Pro
- Helicopter Kyosho
- Parrot AR.drone
- DJI Matrice M100
- Walkera Voyager 4
- Custom built hexacopter
- Tricopter HMF600, frame only
- 6S LiPo battery
As expected, according to the team, larger drones made of carbon fibre proved easier to detect, whereas drones made from plastic and foam were less visible.
Source: electronicsweekly
