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Drone Detection

How Does RIDER Detect Drones?​

RIDER is capable of receiving Remote ID messages transmitted over both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. These messages allow RIDER to detect and identify drones in its vicinity.

warning

RIDER cannot detect drones that do not transmit Remote ID messages.

Detecting Bluetooth Remote ID​

Remote ID messages over Bluetooth are transmitted using a process called Bluetooth Advertising. This mechanism broadcasts data packets over three dedicated advertising channels: 37, 38, and 39.

Here's how it works:

  • When a drone transmits a Remote ID message, it sends it simultaneously on all three channels.
  • RIDER, like most Bluetooth receivers, can only listen on one channel at a time.
  • However, since the same message is broadcasted on all three channels, RIDER can reliably receive the message as long as there is no significant interference.

Detecting Wi-Fi Remote ID​

Wi-Fi-based Remote ID detection works differently and presents more challenges.

  • The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band used for Remote ID has 13 channels.
  • Wi-Fi receivers can listen to only one channel at a time, while most drones transmit on a single fixed channel.
  • This creates a problem: if RIDER is listening on a different channel than the drone is transmitting on, the message may be missed.

To mitigate this issue, RIDER is using intelligent channel hopping mechanism to improve the chances of message reception.

  • Passive Scanning
    Used when no drones have been detected yet. RIDER cycles through all 13 channels periodically, looking for the first signs of any drone.

  • Active Scanning
    Once a drone is detected, RIDER switches to a mode that prioritizes the channel where the drone has been seen. This increases the chance of receiving additional messages from the same drone.

note

Most drone manufacturers currently use channel 6 for Wi-Fi Remote ID, so channel hopping mechanism often yields very good results without significantly compromising detection performance.

Drone Whitelisting​

Drone whitelisting will help you recognize your own drones and either mute or completely ignore them, helping you avoid unnecessary notifications and save valuable scanning hours.

For enabling this feature, make sure your RIDER is updated to firmware 1.4.1 (or higher), and your version of Dronetag App is 2.138.1 (or higher).

Difference between Muted and Ignored drone​

  • Muted drones – RIDER detects your whitelisted drones and sends their data to Dronetag cloud / Drone Scanner App, but you won’t get any LED or sound notifications for them. This allows you to later replay the full airspace situation, including both your drones and unknown drones, which can be valuable when analyzing flights or reviewing incidents.
  • Ignored drones – RIDER fully ignores whitelisted drones. It doesn’t collect their data at all, letting you save scanning time and focus entirely on external drones. Information about ignored drones is not even stored in the RIDER's internal memory.

How to whitelist a drone:​

  1. Open the map and tap the icon of the drone you want to whitelist.
  2. A bottom panel will appear with drone details — the serial number is displayed at the top. Long-press the serial number to copy it.
  3. Open your Dronetag RIDER device window. Below the scanning time usage graph, you’ll find a section called Filtering configuration.
  4. Tap “Filtering configuration”, then paste the serial number into the Muted or Ignored list:
    • Tap “Add serial number” in your preferred mode.
    • Long-press the input field to paste the copied number.
    • Tap the save icon.
  5. To enable or disable muted or ignored drones at any time, simply use the checkbox on the right side of each entry.

For detailed instructions, please refer to the video below:

If you are having issues with replaying the video, right click in the player and "Open video in new tab" or download it to replay locally.

Power Saving Configuration​

It is posible to further enhance battery life of your RIDER by changing power saving configuration. Power saving works by reducing scanning time while no drones are being detected. Keep in mind that setting more aggressive power saving option will negatively affect time required to detect a drone for the first time, but since it is detected, RIDER keeps detecting without any reduction. Then when the drone left, RIDER goes to power saving mode again.

Power saving options affects only detection of drones that transmits remote id messages over Wi-Fi.

Power Saving Configuration can be found under Profile > My Devices > Dronetag RIDER > Configuration > Power mode.

OptionMaximum time to first detection*Battery life (online / offline)**
Full Power3.4 seconds6 hours / 8 hours
High Performance6.8 seconds8 hours / 10 hours
Balanced10 seconds9 hours / 11 hours
Low Power20 seconds10 hours / 12 hours

* Maximum time to first detection when drone transmits remote id message every 1000 ms, this is the worst case scenario.
** Measured battery life when no drone has been detected.

tip

Using your RIDER in offline mode will improve battery life

Future Updates​

The drone whitelisting feature in the RIDER is still in its early stages, and we’re actively working on enhancements. Upcoming improvements include:

  1. Automatic drone identification – Displaying the drone's manufacturer and model in the whitelisting section, so you won’t need to rely solely on serial numbers.
  2. One-tap whitelisting – Adding drones to the Muted or Ignored list directly from the map dashboard for faster and more intuitive control.
  3. Custom labels and colors – Assigning names, labels, or color tags to your whitelisted drones to enhance situational awareness and airspace clarity.