DJI files with FCC for new upward-facing radar device

DJI has filed paperwork with the FCC for a new upward radar device. We’re anticipating this will be a new sensor on one of the company’s Enterprise products.

DJI is known, to many of us, as a drone company. But if you really start looking at all of the innovations and product breakthroughs, it’s more of a technology company with drones as its primary product. As such, and with many thousands of engineers, the company is routinely patenting new tech and sending products that transmit radio signals off to the FCC for registration and testing.

Let’s take a brief look.

“Upward Radar”

That’s the description on FCC ID SS3-RD2414U, the number the FCC has assigned to the wireless product. SS3 is their identification for DJI, with the remainder of that number designated for this specific product. The equipment class is described as: “DXX – Part 15 Low Power Communication Device Transmitter.” It operates on a frequency of 24.15 GHz.

Here’s what the product looks like; a sensor package that will be mounted on top of a forthcoming product:

Here’s what the label will look like:

Some contents held back

In the “exhibits” section of the FAA page on this, there’s a spot for photos and a user’s manual. Both are empty, with a date of September 4, 2021 listed. Our guess is this material is being held back until then because that’s the planned product release date:

FCC report

The FCC also released a report about their testing of the device. It states “The EUT is an Upward Radar. It contains a 24GHz compatible module enabling the user to detect the object from the blindside through a radar detector.” (EUT stands for Equipment Under Test.)

You’d need to have a pretty deep understanding of electronics, testing methods, and radio frequencies to understand the report. But if you’re really keen, you can check it out here.

We anticipate this is for an Enterprise product, helping with obstacle avoidance and also potentially scanning of structures like the underside of bridges. Hopefully, we’ll know in September.

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