Drone detection system, DJI Aeroscope no longer in production

DJI, the world’s largest camera drone manufacturer, quietly ceased production of its drone detection and monitoring system, DJI Aeroscope.

A message on the official DJI website reads, “The Aeroscope is no longer in production. For the latest in DJI technology, please view our product recommendations below.”

DJI Aeroscope no longer produced

DJI Aeroscope was first introduced in 2017 in Washington, DC. It was developed to quickly identify drone communication links and gather real-time flight data, such as flight status and paths.

The drone detection system was made available in both fixed and mobile versions, and it was utilized by governmental organizations as well as private businesses to prevent unauthorized drones from entering sensitive areas. These areas include airports, nuclear power plants, and other government infrastructure.

By continuously monitoring and analyzing electronic signals, the system is able to detect the vast majority of common drones currently available on the market. This gives users the ability to safeguard their surroundings from any potential dangers.

Although DJI has not made an official announcement concerning the discontinuation of DJI Aeroscope, which was first noticed by UAV Hive, rumors suggest that the company is developing a second version of the receiver. The Verge reached out to DJI for comment but did not receive a response from the company.

On Twitter, Brendan Schulman, who had previously held the position of Vice President of Policy at DJI, said that the decision to halt production of the DJI Aeroscope could have been motivated by one of two factors.

To begin, the function was designed to aid US security interests; however, it was constantly under attack from US security agencies, which may have made it difficult for DJI to continue supporting it.

Second, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is in the process of implementing its Remote ID standard. This means that the FAA, along with other government agencies and law enforcement, will be able to detect and track the majority of drones that are flying in US airspace.

Similar to what DJI has been doing with its more recent drones and DJI Aeroscope, most drone operators in the United States will only be allowed to fly aircraft that have built-in remote broadcast capabilities or a retrofitted remote ID broadcast module beginning on September 16th, 2023.

Drone operators can only use an unmanned aircraft that doesn’t emit remote ID signals when they’re flying in FAA-recognized identified areas, so-called FRIAs.

Prior to the announcement of AeroScope’s demise, researchers developed a tool that could receive signals from DJI drones via third-party devices, allowing them to pick up on the GPS locations of the drone and its pilot without the use of an Aeroscope system.