Stevens Drone Detection Acoustic System and Experiments in Acoustics UAV Tracking

Concerns about improper use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, also unmanned aerial systems or UAS) led to the development of various methods for their detection, tracking, and classification. One of the methods is using acoustics. Advantages of passive acoustics include the low cost of acoustic systems, finding of the Direction of Arrival (DOA) and localization by simple means; and classification of UAV sounds by acoustic signature. Stevens Institute of Technology has developed and built the Drone Acoustic Detection System (DADS) that can detect, track and classify UAVs based on the propeller noise. The system consists of three or more microphone nodes. The microphones in each node are arranged in a tetrahedron with configurable size. The microphone data is transferred over WiFi in real-time to a central computer, where it is processed. The Stevens DADS system was investigated in numerous field tests together with several other directional arrays including a 16-channel two-tier cross array, the OptiNav 40-microphone phased array, and parabolic and shot gun microphones. Multirotor UAVs of different sizes were employed in testing, including DJI models Phantom 4, M600 and S1000. The test results of the different systems were compared.