Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ Remote Identification: A Tutorial and Survey

UAV remote identification is an emerging technology that allows ground observers to identify a drone in the airspace and obtain information about it and its operator. The goal is to enhance safe operation over people and at night and protect public privacy. Two modes are known for remote identification: broadcast-based and network-based. Although both modes’ technical implementation seems straightforward, remote identification is challenging because it includes multiple agents that follow different interests, such as safety, security, privacy, and businesses. Currently, enormous efforts for regulation, standardization, design, implementation, and testing are being made to put this technology forward. This paper aims to outline the landscape of these activities as a survey and tutorial to inform regulators, standardization organizations, industry, and researchers about the state of the art in this technology and to highlight its opportunities and challenges.