When Drones Fly Beneath the Radar

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

It turned out that this solution is also very good for drone monitoring, which is otherwise a challenge for traditional radar systems. Peder R. Pedersen explains: “Helicopter drones are able to fly very slowly. This makes them difficult to detect using a pulse radar—but not for a Doppler radar system. Because even though the drone as a whole is moving slowly, the rotors are moving around very fast, and produce the distinctive signal in a Doppler radar.”

However, it was not plain sailing transferring the technology which had been used for the Indonesian solution to one which could be used for drone monitoring.

“In addition to their small size and the fact that they can fly extremely low, drones pose several other challenges. Helicopter drones in particular are extremely manoeuvrable. A skilled drone pilot can exploit this to conceal the drone between irrelevant objects such as trees, buildings, birds, etc.,” says Peder R. Pedersen.

Weibel Scientific therefore decided to join forces with another Danish company—Copenhagen Sensor Technology (CST), which developed an optical system which has been integrated with Weibel’s radar. By combining radar and optical sensors, it becomes much more feasible to track a drone while avoiding false alarms, for example when a bird flies past. The optical sensors also help to identify the drone.

Special competences required

“The radar system’s software is being optimized all the time. In fact, one of our engineer groups is permanently assigned to the task. And it is this area where we have the greatest problems finding enough new employees with the right competences,” says Peder R. Pedersen. “Radar algorithms are similar to those used in image processing for medical devices etc., so we are competing with other sectors for the same expertise. Sometimes, there are even projects which our customers want us to help with, but where I have to say no.”

It is relatively easy to recruit employees with microwave and mechanics competences, which are the two other main areas where Weibel employs engineers.

“Over the years, we have had a lot of Master’s students and people doing their PhD projects, and usually we have employed them afterwards,” says Peder R. Pedersen, who is a member of DTU Electrical Engineering’s Advisory Board.

“All in all, it is natural for us to recruit from DTU because of its proximity and the strong research environment within microwaves, which in effect gave birth to the company.”

Original by: Morten Andersen

• < Previous Page