Specific identity and bird species
New in 0.2.550.
DroneTracker can name a target more precisely than “airplane” or “drone”, for example “BOEING 737-824” or a drone’s maker and serial number. This chapter explains where those names come from and how to turn on the optional sources.
The rule: green is evidence, amber is a guess
The target card on the dashboard has two parts (see The dashboard):
- Amber (top), LOCAL VISION MODEL. What the detection model thinks it sees: OBJECT, MAKE/MODEL, and CONFIDENCE. These are the model’s own guesses.
- Green (bottom). Facts from outside the camera, such as ADS-B data, records, and broadcasts.
A name only appears in green when there is evidence for it. A model’s guess never appears in green.
The IDENTITY row
When DroneTracker has evidence for what a target is, the IDENTITY row appears at the top of the green section. It shows the name, then the source in brackets. The lines under it list the evidence.
If there is no clear evidence, the row doesn’t appear. That’s expected. An empty row means “not proven”, not “nothing there”.
DroneTracker checks these sources, strongest first, and uses the first one that gives an answer:
| Source shown | Where the name comes from | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AIRFRAME RECORD | The aircraft is confirmed by ADS-B. Its make and model come from the aircraft registry. | BOEING 737-824, with evidence such as the ADS-B code, Registration, and ICAO type |
| ADS-B TYPE | The aircraft is confirmed by ADS-B, but no registry record was found. The type code comes from its transponder data. | B738 (ICAO type) |
| REMOTE ID | A drone broadcasting Remote ID, with its maker and serial number. | DJI · serial 1581F… |
| SPECIES MATCH · NN% | A bird, matched against the species recorded near the rig. | A common name, its scientific name, and how often it’s recorded locally this month |
| LEARNED · NN% | The target looks like aircraft or drones this rig has confirmed before. | “3 of the 4 closest confirmed sightings were …” |
Airframe record and ADS-B type
These appear only after the target is matched to an ADS-B aircraft (the green section reads VERIFIED). The make and model come from the aircraft registry data on the rig. The Flight Enrichment section of Admin → System Settings shows how big that registry is and how current it is. If there’s no record for the aircraft, DroneTracker falls back to the ICAO type code from the aircraft’s own broadcast.
Remote ID
Drones that broadcast Remote ID send their maker, serial number, and position. DroneTracker attaches a Remote ID to a target only when both of these are true:
- exactly one broadcasting drone lies along the camera’s line of sight (within about 8°), and
- exactly one drone is on screen.
This means two drones can never swap names. If either condition isn’t met, the row stays empty. The maker is read from a manufacturer serial number only. Remote ID needs a Remote ID receiver. See Radios: ADS-B, ATC and datalink.
Learned look-alikes
Every time the rig confirms an aircraft (by ADS-B) or a drone (by Remote ID), it remembers what that target looked like on its own camera. Later, when a target appears that nothing vouches for, the rig compares it with those confirmed sightings.
It names the target only when several close look-alikes agree. Specifically, at least 3 very similar confirmed sightings must agree, and they must make up most of the close matches. Otherwise it stays quiet.
Expect this to stay quiet at first. The rig has to build up confirmed sightings before it can name anything this way. This uses the rig’s image memory: Remember what confirmed detections looked like, for “Seen before” (needs the CLIP model). You’ll find it under Admin → System Settings → Advanced — device/feature settings → Computer Vision. It is on by default.
Bird species
DroneTracker can name a bird’s species. Two things are needed:
- A detector that reports birds. The default AeroDetect models don’t report birds. Use a model that does, such as the general COCO model, either as the active model or as the secondary detector. See Video sources and detection models.
- The bird species list for your area. This is off by default. To turn it on:
- Open Admin → System Settings.
- In the Flight Enrichment section, turn on Fetch the bird species recorded near this rig (iNaturalist) for species identification. Sends the rig’s location rounded to ~100 km; the list is kept for offline use. About the species list:
- It comes from iNaturalist, a public nature-observation database. It covers the birds recorded within about 100 km of the rig, month by month. The area is based on the site under Admin → System Settings → Site. If no site is set, the rig uses its estimate of where it is from the aircraft it hears. (Before 0.2.553 it used the location recorded at installation.)
- Only a rounded location leaves the rig, never its exact position.
- The list is kept on the rig, so species matching still works offline.
- It refreshes about once a month.
A species is named only when one clearly wins. It must look most like the bird and be likely here this month. Local records can tip a close call, but they never make a name up. Birds that are too small in the frame aren’t named.
The AI make/model guess (optional)
Separately from the evidence above, DroneTracker can ask its AI reasoner to guess each tracked aircraft’s or drone’s make and model. The guess appears in the amber section as MAKE/MODEL. It is the model’s guess, not evidence, and it never shows up as IDENTITY.
This is off by default. It uses a lot of memory on small rigs, and it can cost money on a cloud reasoner. To turn it on:
- Open Admin → System Settings.
- Expand Advanced — device/feature settings, then find Computer Vision.
- Turn on Ask the reasoner (VLM) for each tracked aircraft/drone’s make and model, shown as the model’s guess (default off: memory on an 8 GB Orin, cost on a cloud reasoner).
The guess uses the reasoner set up under Admin → Reasoners.