Czech Remote ID Addon Enables Drone Flight Radar – Europe

As in the United States, in the near future, almost all drones in Europe will also need to be equipped with a function that broadcasts the operator's operator number and the position of the drone: Remote ID.

But not all drones are equipped with this “flight radar for drones” feature. To ensure that legacy drones can continue to be used, the Czech startup Dronetag is launching a Remote ID addon: the Dronetag Mini.

“Drone license plate”

Remote ID does for drones what a license plate does for cars: it ensures that enforcers and people on the ground can remotely see who a particular drone belongs to. But Remote ID is more than a license plate for drones: in future U-space zones, for example, it is essential that all unmanned aerial vehicles continuously communicate their position and flight direction, so that other airspace users can adjust their trajectory accordingly.

For the above reasons, Remote ID is mentioned as one of the product requirements that will be imposed on most drones used in the EU from 1-1-2023.

So-called legacy drones, which for whatever reason cannot broadcast an operator number, may only be used in Open category A3 from that date. The same goes for self-built drones.

If you still want to continue flying with a legacy drone or a self-built drone*, you can choose to install a Remote ID addon. This is a device that transmits not only the operator number but also current telemetry. And in such a way that the data can be viewed in accordance with the technical requirements set by the European Commission for Remote ID, to ensure compatibility with DRI receivers and UTM systems.

Remote ID Addon: Dronetag Mini

Czech startup Dronetag has now claimed to have developed the world's smallest Remote ID addon, in the form of the Dronetag Mini. The device supports both Network Remote ID (broadcasting Remote ID information over a mobile network) and Direct Remote ID (where the Remote ID information is broadcast locally, via Bluetooth). According to Dronetag founder & CEO Lukáš Brchl, the Dronetag Mini is therefore well prepared for the future.

The Dronetag Mini weighs 32 grams, has the size of half a muesli bar, and works for about 14 hours on a single battery charge.

The range of the built-in Bluetooth transmitter is approximately 1.5 km. Mobile connectivity is via LTE-M or NB-IoT. The system complies with the requirements laid down in the ASD-STAN 4709-002 standard for Remote ID. In principle, this standard forms the basis for the technical requirements as set by the European Commission.

The device has an integrated GNSS receiver for position determination, supplemented with accelerometers and altitude sensors to collect all the necessary information about the flight direction of the drone. In addition, the Dronetag Mini can also be connected to standard flight controllers such as the DJI A3 or Pixhawk 4D.

Management options

The system can be configured via the Dronetag Mini app, which is available for Android and iOS. With this app, it is also possible to track the drone remotely and to plan drone flights. If you want to use Network ID via LTE-M or NB-IoT, you can insert a SIM card into the Dronetag Mini. Then there are subscription costs.

According to Brchl, the Dronetag Mini also offers possibilities in the field of drone fleet management. “We are developing Dronetag Mini not only as the Remote ID solution, but also for common scenarios such as managing a team's drone fleet. It does not matter whether pilots fly drones from different manufacturers: they can manage their flight logs in one application and have them audited by the authorities at any time.”

Price and availability of Remote ID Addon

The DroneTag Mini costs 249 euros and can be ordered via shop.dronetag.cz. The Dronetag Mini is supplied without external LTE and Bluetooth antennas, so you as a user have to purchase them separately. According to the website, the data rate for the integrated SIM card costs 10 euros per month. Use of the Dronetag software platform and SIM card are included for the first six months.

*Note: the presence of Remote ID is only one of the product requirements that the European Commission sets for future drones with a Cx classification. Applying a Remote ID addon does not mean that a legacy drone meets all requirements for a drone with a Cx label. You should therefore rather think of drones that are used in the Specific category, where the operation has been found to be safe on the basis of a PDRA or SORA.

Do you have a so-called legacy drone and will you need a Remote ID addon or module in order to comply with the rules in Europe? Let us know your thoughts on this device in the comments below.

This article first appeared on Dronewatch and is written by Wiebe de Jager who is also a DroneXL contributor.

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