Acoustic Sensing for Detecting Projectile Attacks on Small Drones
Nakul Garg, Nirupam Roy · 2020
Autonomous drones have become increasingly popular in applications such as trusted delivery and law enforcement. This makes them vulnerable to midair attacks for profit and vandalism. While modern aircrafts can detect and defend against projectile attacks using radar and antenna arrays, small drones cannot leverage such techniques. The primary challenges are their (a) small form factor and weight carrying capacity, (b) limited computational power, and (c) limited power source. We envision to develop an ecosystem of lightweight and low-power defense modules for small drones. This project explores the viability of this vision. As proof of concept, we develop a single microphone-based acoustic sensing mechanism capable of identifying if an approaching projectile is about to hit the drone. Our system, called DopplerDodge, transmits acoustic signals and leverages doppler frequency shifts in the reflected signal to predict the projectile's intention.