Keystone Technologies

Keystone Technologies is a small Slovenian engineering team from the Kranj area that develops acoustic drone detection. Its approach targets small, slow and low-flying drones that radar struggles with and that RF detectors miss when they fly without a radio link. The system emits no signal of its own, so it cannot be detected and located by an opponent.

The working listening unit uses twelve microphones sampled in lockstep by a microcontroller. It picks out the propeller signature, calculates azimuth and elevation 60 times per second and passes the bearing to a camera turret, where an on-board AI model confirms the drone in the image and keeps tracking it without an internet connection. The company gives prototype figures of about 40 m detection range for a small camera drone and a 30 ms camera tracking response, with a full benchmark still in progress.

A second turret with a stiffer frame, its own drive on both axes and a mount for a countermeasure is being built. The roadmap continues with a 24-microphone listening unit, networked units that also measure distance and, as a final goal, interceptor drones that carry the recognition model on board.