Advanced Drone Tracking with Ultisense Laser Rangefinders

As drones increasingly pose threats to military operations and critical infrastructure, the need for precise and reliable Counter-Drone solutions is more urgent than ever. Effectively addressing this challenge requires precise and reliable Counter-Drone solutions. A major hurdle is the real-time tracking of small, moving drones. Accurate 3D positioning data is essential to enable reliable estimation of flight trajectories, which are critical for implementing effective mitigation strategies. In this context, accurate tracking with an LRF could provide a solution.

Precise real-time tracking with LRF

The advanced Ultisense Laser Rangefinders (LRFs) provide highly accurate distance measurements at frequencies up to 125 Hz in real-time. This allows Counter-Drone Systems to calculate trajectories and implement mitigation measures accordingly. The special timestamp feature indicates exactly the time, when the measurement was taken, ensuring accurate synchronization with other sensors, such as GNSS, cameras, etc.

Tracking Range to Small Drones

Ultisense offers a range of different LRF models with different measuring, resp. tracking ranges. For close-range drone tracking, where high angular speed of the drones is expected, aligning with the drones is challenging. The LRF 6742* is optimized with a wider divergence, making it easier to aim and track small fast moving drones. For longer ranges, the LRF modules feature a smaller divergence, enabling precise tracking of small drones. To ensure optimal performance, camera and LRF of a host system are typically harmonized with each other.

To help you choose the most efficient LRF for your system, the table below indicates the single measurement range to a small drone for “eye-safe” LRF modules available at SAFRAN Vectronix AG.

We are happy to support you to find the most suitable solution together!