Novel device detection using RF fingerprints
Josh Robinson, Scott Kuzdeba · 2021
Radio transmitters can be identified by their unique radio frequency (RF) fingerprints, which are imparted by their distinct hardware differences and manufacturing variations. However, traditional classification approaches require all classes to be known during training - a constraint that may not hold in many real-world scenarios, with new RF devices appearing during data collection. In this paper, we present an approach for novel device detection in RF data that concurrently performs RF fingerprinting and novel device detection. We introduce a combined clustering loss that explicitly encourages a clustered representation on a lower dimensional manifold, and demonstrate when and where it is most helpful. Finally, we show how to improve performance by including additional devices during the training procedure in a semi-supervised setting.