DRDO invites development of AI-based acoustic technology to detect drones

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has initiated a process to co-develop a state-of-the-art and indigenous Acoustic Drone Detection (ADD) system, aimed at further strengthening India's anti-drone security apparatus. According to a report by News18, DRDO has issued an 'Expression of Interest' (EoI) inviting suitable Indian system developers and manufacturers for the design, assembly, and production of this technology. The primary objective of this initiative is to provide protection against drones using indigenous technology.

At present, most anti-drone systems rely primarily on radar and Radio-Frequency (RF) scanners. However, a significant flaw is observed in these traditional methods. Low-flying micro-drones or autonomous UAVs that operate in complete radio silence often succeed in evading these traditional RF-based detection systems. To address this security gap, the new ADD system being developed by DRDO will operate entirely passively.

The working mechanism of this technology is highly complex and modern. The system will utilise high-sensitivity microphones and specialised parabolic reflectors. This hardware will sample sounds present in the environment to obtain specific acoustic profiles of incoming aerial threats. Once these sound waves are captured, they will be digitised through a dedicated low-power Data Acquisition (DAQ) system.

Following digitisation, an integrated Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning processor will work on this data. This processor will run complex signature-extraction algorithms, intended to isolate the precise frequency of an enemy drone from the ambient environmental noise in real-time. Through this process, the system will provide accurate detection alerts, along with confidence levels of the drone's presence and precise timestamps.

Private sector partners selected under this project will work in collaboration with DRDO. They will undertake the designing, simulation, fabrication, and field-testing of 5 fully functional prototype units. A crucial aspect of this partnership is that while the participating vendors will bear all costs for the initial development, testing, and field demonstrations, all Intellectual Property (IP) rights of this technology will remain solely and exclusively with DRDO.

According to the News18 report, Indian research institutions are now making efforts to use sound as a strategic tool to combat drones. In this same direction, an acoustic-based anti-drone system was recently developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO) in Chandigarh. This system has the capability to stop drones by destabilising their internal MEMS gyroscopes through high-intensity sound.

Ultimately, DRDO aims to prepare a multi-layered and low-cost anti-drone framework. To achieve this, they will integrate passive acoustic-based detection with currently available radar, thermal imaging, and electronic warfare technologies. This architecture will prove extremely useful, particularly for border areas, sensitive military locations, and forward operating locations.