The device can report the presence of any drone and allows the military to reposition or evacuate the occupants of a vehicle targeted by the drone.
Drone detectors are considered commonplace in the munitions world. This is usually a large and expensive spectrometer that detects the presence of drones by analyzing frequencies. However, it is not an easy task for a common soldier to use it in combat situations.
How does ‘candy’ work?
The drone detector should be a simple and cheap device that every soldier can carry and use easily. The first prototype of ‘Candy’ was built in 2022.
The inventor of ‘Candy’, Dmitri Selin, is a Ukrainian programmer who has lived in London for a long time.
Selin says that he spontaneously named it ‘Candy’. ‘For the first prototype I was looking for a simple box. The most suitable thing I found was a plastic sugar box.
This is what gave rise to the name of this device.
Sellin says the detector quickly became popular with the Ukrainian military and began receiving large-scale orders.
The main advantage of ‘candy’ is its simplicity and low cost. Right now the drone detector costs 2,400 riyals, which is just $60.
How does ‘candy’ work?
The working mechanism of ‘Candy’ is very simple. Each drone and the operator console communicate via radio waves. Remote control directs the drone in which direction to go while providing information about the drone’s status to its operator via video and telemetry signals.
According to Dmitri, both the video and telemetry streams, or at least one of them, can be captured because the signal is emitted in all directions.
‘So we use the same receiver that is on the operator’s console and if we choose the parameters of the signal correctly, we can capture it easily.’
He further said that the signal parameters do not only consist of frequency, but also include three more indicators, “Based on these parameters, we can find out what kind of drone it is.”
The basis of the unique parameters information the Ukrainian military has that they are able to detect incoming Russian drones are spy drones such as Orlan, Elron, Zala and Supercam. Based on this database, the detector is also able to distinguish between Lancet kamikaze drones and small Chinese Mavics.
Sellin admits that his detector has difficulty identifying FPV drones.
‘Candy’ does not clearly detect these drones. Also, another problem that is being faced is that all such first-person drones are now transmitting at a lower frequency. This means they will need a special antenna to detect their presence.
Sellin adds that experienced drone operators turn off the telemetry signal when they get close to their target, so the detector cannot detect its presence.
However, Selin says that Ukrainian engineers have already started working to overcome these obstacles.