Can Drones Be Tracked? The Facts Explained

Drone technology has improved tremendously over the years, with manufacturers producing quadcopters that are almost unbelievable in their sophistication and capability. Can drones be tracked?

Yes, drones employing RF communication can be traced using RF sensors. However, those with a GPS waypoint pre-programmed can be tracked using Radar detection. Visual detection technologies; Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Cameras, can be utilized to get visuals of the identified drone and establish the threat.

This easy-to-understand article explains what a drone is and how it functions. Every few months, more sophisticated UAV drones are introduced to the market as a result of ongoing innovation and substantial financial investment.

Watch the video to learn more.

Drone Detection Or Drone Tracking

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones as they are generally known, can be detected using drone detection technologies. There are a variety of technologies used to detect drone activity in the airspace. 

And the capabilities of each technology vary in terms of drone size and detection range. Visual detection technology can be utilized to obtain visuals and establish the threat posed by the drone.

The Need For Drone Detection 

Modern commercial drones pose a hazard to airports, stadiums, refineries, and prisons. A drone near a runway threatens takeoff and landing. Drones can evade ground security and deliver payloads to stadiums, jails, and oil & gas facilities. Security teams need a technique to detect drones and monitor their airspace.

Tracking A Drone Operator: How Do You Do It

To monitor a drone operator, we highly recommend the DJI AeroScope range of drone detection technology, which detects drones and their operators via RF signal analysis. AeroScope captures drone pilot data and makes it available to third-party firms to display drone operator positions and other critical information to you and your team.

Finding A Pilot For A Drone Isn’t As Easy As It Sounds

First, detect the invading drone. DJI Aeroscope employs RF sensors to detect unlicensed drones in your airspace. These drones can be deactivated, netted, or shot down, depending on your facility’s procedures. Modern camera drones allow pilots to fly without a line of sight. DJI has worked to tackle this pilot shortage.

Is There An App That Will Detect Drones?

Aerial Armor is delighted to introduce the first mobile app for drone detection that is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Customers who have our drone detection equipment installed or who have subscribed to our detection data network have exclusive access to our app.

What Are The Most Reliable Technologies For Drone Detection?

Drone Detection Using Radio Frequency (Rf) Technology

The majority of drones communicate with their operators via radio frequency (RF) spectrum. To maintain the connection between the receiver and transmitter, they are linked with RFID chips that prevent other devices on the same frequency from overtaking the drone.

RF drone detection employs radio frequency (RF) sensors that passively listen and monitor 70 MHz to 6 GHz frequencies for broadcasts of the communication link between the drone and the pilot (receiver) in order to determine the location of the drone and in some cases the location of the pilot.

Drone Detection Using Radar

Radars with a high resolution are created specifically for drone identification and tracking. Radars continuously monitor the sky for reflections and alterations in order to identify motion and size. Comparing reflected signals to a database allows for the characterization of drones. 

The recorded signatures can also be used to exclude non-drone-like items, similar to how radars detect birds. This signal processing significantly enhances detection performance and reduces false positives.

Drone Detection Using Visual Tracking

In conjunction with other drone detection technologies, APTZ Cameras can create and transmit a video record of a drone event. Typically, drone detection software notifies a PTZ camera of the drone’s GPS location, allowing the camera to Pan, Tilt, and Zoom in the correct area to record a visual of the drone.

Visual detection is not a suitable first line of defence for detecting approaching drones due to environmental and seasonal considerations, but it is a great tool for capturing drone incidents for real-time and future analysis.

How Can You Benefit From Drone Detection?

Drone detection helps you to Determine drone and pilot activity, Inform the security personnel of the drone’s make, model, altitude, and GPS location. It enhances response time by providing advanced warnings and notifications. Also, real-time monitoring of drone activity is required to enable actionable intervention. Data should be recorded and kept for use as proof.

What Kind Of Organizations And Facilities Need To Install Drone Detection?

Drone detection is being installed by a variety of organizations. Airports use drone detection to maintain track of the drones around the runway since they can collide with planes taking off and landing. Organizations such as stadiums, oil and gas plants, key infrastructure, and prisons require detection systems since drones can deliver payloads.

Can Police Detect Drones?

Drones are widely used by public safety organizations for surveillance missions, crime scene investigations, search and rescue operations, recovering stolen commodities, and disaster relief management. To simply answer this, yes! Drones can be used for surveillance if they have the necessary technology.

Can You Block A Drone Signal?

Disabling a drone’s GPS system is one of the more effective methods. If you interfere with a drone’s GPS system, it will most certainly crash. High-powered lasers, electromagnetic pulse guns, and radiofrequency jammers can be used to prohibit a drone from accessing a certain area.

How To Spot A Drone At Night?

The light, sound, and radio signals sent by drones are the three factors that might assist you in locating drones at night. Fortunately, these three things are easily detectable at night using basic human senses or cheap technologies. Here are some different ways to notice a drone at night

Watch Out For Light

Drones emit light when they fly at night, but they are typically so dim that you may not see them if you aren’t looking for them. Some drones emit both blinking and non-blinking lights, which will assist you in spotting the drone as it approaches you.

Surveillance drones typically do not feature dull navigation lights, but rather strong anti-collision lights that assist you to see the drone as soon as it approaches you. Drones’ most frequent light colours are green, white, and red, however, they are not limited to these.

Listen To The Sound

Although some drones are relatively quiet when flying, even the most silent drone can be spotted in a peaceful setting. Drones create a variety of sounds, but their propellers, which buzz as they fly through the air, are the primary source of the noise.

You don’t need any additional equipment to notice the buzzing sound if you pay attention to your surroundings. Fortunately, drone noises are easy to detect at night since soundwaves bend downward at night. In actuality, there is no such thing as a drone that can sneak up on you without making a sound.

Use A Drone Detector Application

Fortunately, smartphones can assist you in simply detecting drones. All you need to do to detect drones with your smartphone is install a drone detector app. There are numerous drone detection programmes available online. 

These apps are meant to capture unencrypted wi-fi signals used by drones to connect with their pilots. After capturing the signal, the programme will compare it to a database to ensure that the signals are indeed coming from a drone.

 Use Motion Detection Cameras

If you don’t have much time to wait for the light or listen to sounds, you can utilize motion detection cameras to spot drones. In fact, motion detection cameras can detect drones more accurately than humans. 

These cameras detect movement by comparing a series of photos. When the camera detects movement, it will warn you of any intruding object. Many motion detection cameras are set up to deliver notifications to your phone by default.

Conclusion

To summarize, drones cannot currently be tracked by drone manufacturers or anybody else. Trackers can be installed on your drone to track it if it is lost or stolen, however, they must be added after the purchase. 

Drones have diverse camera capabilities and ranges. If you are worried about your privacy and how far a drone camera can view, you have a right to be however, there are other ways to tell and some countries don’t allow access to surveillance drones to the public.

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