Transmitters that behave alike
Every circle is a group of short signal segments with a similar burst pattern and spectrum. The model that produced each segment was never shown to the grouping. Red circles are groups that turn out to be mostly one model. Select one to see its signature.
Cluster Hierarchy
Thinned for PreviewFrom raw records to groups you can explain
Raw radio recordings, not pictures of them
RFUAV is an open dataset of raw IQ recordings of drones and remote controllers, captured with a software-defined radio at 100 million samples per second. DataExplorer reads the opening second of each recording directly from the published archives.
37 models; 9.7 GB read out of 109 GB published.
Keep the moments that contain signal
Each recording is cut into segments of 0.66 milliseconds. The quiet level of the recording is measured, and segments with less than 5% of their duration above it are set aside as idle.
23,208 of 49,683 segments contain signal.
Describe the burst and the spectrum
Each segment is reduced to its burst structure (how many bursts, how long, what share of the time), the spectrum it occupies, and how its envelope and frequency behave inside the occupied band.
22 features per segment; 16 used for clustering.
Let the transmitters sort themselves
HDBSCAN groups segments by these features alone. Model and maker are attached afterwards, only to check the result.
167 clusters; 84 at the finest level.
Read off a signature
Each cluster reports what sets it apart: a frequency-hopping controller shows short, narrow bursts; a video downlink shows a wide, flat, continuous signal.
Burst length, burst count, occupied bandwidth and duty cycle per cluster.
Compare signatures side by side
Open up to four clusters next to each other, colour the hierarchy by model, maker or signal kind, and drill into the individual segments.
All of it runs in the browser against the live service.
Models separated by signal alone
72 of the 84 finest clusters are at least 60% one model, and 30 of the 37 models have a cluster of their own. The table lists the largest such clusters. Select a row to open one.
| Model | Segments | Share of cluster |
|---|---|---|
| Loading… | ||
The signature of a transmitter
Measured on raw samples, 0.66 milliseconds at a time, with no decoding of the link.
Burst structure
Number of bursts, their length, and the share of time the transmitter is on: the rhythm of a frequency-hopping link.
Spectrum
Occupied bandwidth, the span the energy covers, and how flat or peaked the occupied band is.
Envelope
Peak-to-average power and amplitude fluctuation: steady for hopping control links, noise-like for wideband video.
Frequency behaviour
How the instantaneous frequency is distributed inside the burst, and whether it sweeps.
The demonstration dataset
RFUAV: A Benchmark Dataset for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detection and Identification. The recordings were made with a USRP X310 software-defined radio at 100 MS/s in the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands. This demonstration uses the first second of each of the 37 published recordings.
Dataset Profile
Characterise the emitters you see
DataExplorer works on recorded IQ from your receivers. Talk to our team about an evaluation.
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