Acoustic Localization and Tracking of the Multiple Drones

Due to the social problems in the intrusion of privacy and the collision hazard, monitoring of the drones are needed for the regulations. To enhance the identification of multiple drones flying at a specific zone simultaneously, a new localization method other than the optical or electromagnetic methods is needed. In this work, a method to use the acoustic cues of the drone is presented, and the three-dimensional acoustic intensimetry (3DAI) is employed for the localization. The 3DAI implements the compensation algorithm for the spectral bias error of the probe configured in a tetrahedron shape. The blade passing frequency and its harmonics radiated from the quadcopter drones are adopted as the acoustical cues for the detection. The test for single drone is done within an anechoic chamber to estimate the localization error in the real-time. For the multiple drones, the test is carried out for the localization by using recorded sounds of three drones having different rotor sizes. The results show that the mean azimuth and elevation angle error is less than 5° for localization of multiple drones. The localization result is fine when BPFs are distinguishable, but, for the case with spectral overlap, it bears a large error.