Abstract
The development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, has introduced revolutionary changes in many areas over the past few years. However, aside from opening new possibilities, the usage of drones in an irresponsible and dangerous manner leads to many hazardous incidents. This paper presents a drone detection sensor with a continuous 2.400 GHz-2.483 GHz operational frequency range for detection methods based on passive radio frequency imaging techniques. The implementation based on Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Field Programmable Logic Array (FPGA) hardware that overcomes the 40 MHz real-time bandwidth limit of other popular SDRs is presented utilizing low-cost off-the-shelf components. Furthermore, a hardware realization of the signal processing chain for specific detection algorithms is proposed to minimize the throughput between SDR and the companion computer and offload software computations. The device validation is made in a laboratory and real-life scenario and presented in relation to the sensor used in other works. In addition to the increased real-time bandwidth, the measurements show a 9 dB reduction in detection sensitivity compared to the reference receiver, in line with the analog RF front-end specifications. The final analysis demonstrates the proposed device’s relevance as a sensor for obtaining machine learning datasets and as a part of a final anti-drone system.
Highlights
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were initially referred to as military reserved technology restricted for tactical use
The implementation presented in the paper was done using VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL), synthesized in Quartus Prime 20.1, and simulated in integrated ModelSim software provided by Intel
The real-life drone signal dataset, created in the initial development stage for experiments and parameters optimization, was acquired using the original low-cost LimeSDR-USB as Radio Frequency (RF) front-end without firmware modifications, and companion computer for data storage
Summary
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were initially referred to as military reserved technology restricted for tactical use. Within a few years, the growing popularity of smartphones, widespread navigation systems availability, technological advancements in communication and imaging established a significant growth of commercial drone market size, which is expected to generate a value of EUR 10 billion per year by 2035 [1]. Giving new possibilities in various sectors such as precision agriculture [2], energy [3], cinematography [4], construction inspection [5], and even package delivery [6], the rising demand for aerial services affects the safety and the privacy of people. According to the FAA UAS Sightings Report, incidents involving drones average about 100 a month [11]
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