EM-based drone-detection/identification for safety purposes

Drone surely could be effectively used to improve the safety in several applications (e.g., transport applications, surveillance). On the other hand, they also represent a threat to safety and security. Therefore, both for civil and military applications, it is crucial to develop cost-effective detection systems to warn of the presence of drones. In many military applications, it is also important to be able to identify the drone at some extent (the model, dimension etc.). This Chapter reviews the main approaches proposed for drone detection/identification, mainly focusing on the class of techniques based on the analysis of some Electromagnetic (EM) signature, which includes: 1. Detection based on the analysis of the signature of Radio Frequency (RF) signals intentionally emitted by the drone. 2. Detection based on the analysis of the signature of more general EM signals not intentionally emitted by the drone. 3. Detection based on the analysis of the signature of RF signals reflected by the drone and transmitted by sources of opportunity. Some original results are presented and open challenges highlighted.