A Preliminary Study and Implementing Algorithm Using Finite State Automaton for Remote Identification of Drones

Abstract

Electronic remote identification (ER-ID) is a new radio frequency (RF) technology that is initiated by the Federal Aviation Authorities (FAA). For security reasons, traffic control, and so on, ER-ID has been applied for drones by the FAA to enable them to transmit their unique identification and location so that unauthorized drones can be identified. The current limitation of the existing ER-ID algorithms is that the application is limited to the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless controllers, which results in a maximum range of 10–20 m for Bluetooth and 50–100 m for Wi-Fi. In this study, a mathematical computing technique based on finite state automaton (FSA) is introduced to expand the range of the ER-ID RF system and reduce the energy required by the drone to use the technology. A finite number of states have been designed to include a larger range of wireless network techniques, enabling the drones to be recognized while they are further away and in remote areas. This is achieved by including other means of RF channels, such as 4G/5G, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), long range Internet of things (IoT), and satellite communications, in the suggested ER-ID algorithm of this study. The introduced algorithm is tested via a case study. The results showed the ability to detect drones using all types of available radio frequency communication systems (RF-CS) while also minimizing the consumed energy. Hence, the authorities can control the licensed drones by using available RF-CS devices, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which are already widely used for mobile phones, as an example.