Just curious, but why are people so anti Remote I. D.

[AnDronioBanderos]

It's a privacy issue for me. I am not " up to no good ", but at the same time I am not happy about my drones broadcasting an ID like that, whether it is being picked up by anyone or not.

That said, I also realize the following:

a) No one is really actively watching for RID

b) You will be detected whether you have remote ID or not. A friend of mine was flying one of his Potensic Atom drones without remote ID early one weekend morning and neglected to check Air Aware for TFR's. I think he said he flew for maybe 20 minutes over his backyard and the woods behind his house at about 200 feet. He landed, was in the midst of packing things up when a military aircraft with a profile similar to a predator drone ( slender body, extremely wide wingspan, with an engine mounted towards the rear ) approached low and slow from the south, turned towards the east while it was over his property, and than flew off back towards the south. That aircraft was atypical for the area this guy is in, was never seen before and never seen since. He thought it was unusual and afterwards he checked Air Aware and found he was on the very outer perimeter of a presidential TFR. He was so far out from the center he could have driven 5 minutes to the west and had been out of it.

So, with, or without RID " they " will know you have a drone in the air and can probably even link the radio signal from your drone without RID back to your controller and ID you that way if you are using your phone.

Just in relation to your point 'b'

Yep, drones can be detected in seconds by systems like aeroscope which was in use by USA agencies and they possibly have their own version now that, they can't purchase dji products (tongue in cheek comment).

It and other similar systems detect the communications link between the drone and the remote and plots out telemetry and details in seconds for the end user and can cover areas up to and in excess of 50km according to the information available.

There was quite a lot of controversy with allegations that dji provided said systems to Russia during the early stage of the conflict in the Ukraine as consumer drones were being used and in some reported accounts, drone and pilots were obliterated within minutes of deploying their drones. This was before Ukraine managed to source military grade drones from various countries.

So quite possibly that could have happened to your friend.

You are correct, RID isn't needed to locate drones. Although the common misconception is that RID is the only way that this is done.

I am sure there are many more advanced detection systems that we don't even know about.

 

[zocalo]

You are correct, RID isn't needed to locate drones. Although the common misconception is that RID is the only way that this is done.

I am sure there are many more advanced detection systems that we don't even know about.

All correct. It's basic RF - if it's a wireless transmitter or receiver, then it can be detected and the location triangulated (receivers are a bit harder, but they do tend to generate a little RF noise as backscatter). In the case of a drone, obviously both the controller and aircraft are doing both. Military spec stuff that is designed to look for stray emissions from things trying to keep a low RF profile and track it, like stealth aircraft, are not going to have too many problems with a drone.

I don't see RID as a replacement for these systems, or even Aeroscope, so much as a complement for a different set of problems:

* A deterrent / increased effort needed for those who like to push the legal limits where Aeroscope etc. may not be deployed, and evidence capture for those who do it anyway.
* A cheaper local alternative for that horrendously expensive MilSpec gear and where even something like Aeroscope may be a stretch.
* Last mile; generic detectors that don't understand the traffic data and can pull GPS info from it are only going to get you in the ballpark. RID should make it much easier to get a cop's hand on a guilty shoulder when needed.
* Vastly improved local situational awareness for semi/fully autonomous drones (e.g. delivery bots), making the skies much safer for everyone - and especially for those on the ground below!
* A starting point for a fully integrated airspace control system, enabling much wider operating envelopes for drones like BVLOS & increased altitudes with less risk.

And, of course, the real reason:

* Politicians being seen to do something to try and appease all the Karens with a vote that keep writing those annoying letters.

 

[tstr14]

RID concerns me a lot less than having to put a license plate on my car for all the world to see. And that doesn't concern me at all.

 

[mavic3usa]

RID concerns me a lot less than having to put a license plate on my car for all the world to see. And that doesn't concern me at all.

I would be a lot less concerned if RID was more like the license plate on your car but in fact, they are almost nothing alike sadly.

 

[BossBob]

In the UK you already have to put a license plate on your drone. Something else to add to the takeoff weight!