Israeli researchers develop technology to locate hostile drones in extreme weather

A new development by researchers at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Engineering is designed to locate hostile drones in changing and extreme weather conditions. The system uses an AI-enabled radar that will classify drones according to the electromagnetic radiation they emit.

The researchers explain that drones are usually identified using cameras that record every aircraft that enters Israeli territory, but add that weather conditions can make it difficult to photograph and locate the drones. 

As part of the new development, the identification is carried out through a representation of the drone’s ‘identity card’, using radar and electromagnetic tagging of the drone’s wings, separating drones with different IDs. The AI ​​algorithm relies on a neural network that classifies the drone as friendly or hostile, and is designed to work in changing weather and environmental conditions. Experiments were first carried out under laboratory conditions in a sterile environment, and then in an external environment, to simulate real cases.