Deep Learning Approach to UAV Detection and Classification by Using Compressively Sensed RF Signal

Recently, the frequent occurrence of the misuse and intrusion of UAVs has made it a research challenge to identify and detect them effectively, and relatively high bandwidth and pressure on data transmission and real-time processing exist when sampling UAV communication signals using the RF detection method. In this paper, firstly, for data sampling, we chose a compressed sensing technique to replace the traditional sampling theorem and used a multi-channel random demodulator to sample the signal; secondly, for the detection and identification of the presence, type, and flight pattern of UAVs, a multi-stage deep learning-based UAV identification and detection method was proposed by exploiting the difference in communication signals between UAVs and controllers under different circumstances. The data samples are first passed by detectors that detect the presence of UAVs, then classifiers are used to identify the type of UAVs, and finally flight patterns are judged by the corresponding classifiers, for which two neural network structures (DNN and CNN) are constructed by deep learning algorithms and evaluated and validated by a 10-fold cross-validation method, with the DNN network used for detectors and the CNN network for subsequent type and flying mode classification. The experimental results demonstrate, first, the effectiveness of using compressed sensing for sampling the communication signals of UAVs and controllers; and second, the detecting method with multi-stage DL detects higher efficiency and accuracy compared with existing detecting methods, detecting the presence, type, and flight model of UAVs with an accuracy of over 99%.