DJI Begins Requiring Built-In ADS-B Receivers on Every New Drone Leaving the Factory

Starting January 1, 2020, DJI is requiring a built-in AirSense receiver on every new drone model weighing more than 250 grams, capable of picking up ADS-B signals from manned aircraft. The system alerts the pilot through the DJI Pilot or DJI Go 4 apps with the estimated distance and direction of an approaching plane or helicopter, giving them time to maneuver and avoid a collision.

How exactly does AirSense work?

The receiver picks up ADS-B Out broadcasts, the technology many manned aircraft use to continuously transmit their position. Once a light aircraft, helicopter, or other aircraft equipped with the system enters the surrounding airspace, the DJI app shows the drone pilot a visual alert with an estimated distance and direction, giving them a window to react.

In practice, this is an added layer of spatial awareness, not an automatic collision-avoidance system. The pilot still has to act on their own: descend, veer aside, or land. DJI isn't presenting AirSense as a magic fix, but as a support tool that reduces the odds of a scenario where a drone and an aircraft end up on the same flight path without either side knowing it.

The backdrop: busier skies shared by all

The number of consumer and commercial drones in the air has grown rapidly in recent years, and along with it, concern over unexpected encounters with general aviation, particularly light aircraft and helicopters flying at low altitudes near small airports and rural areas. Regulators in various countries have begun discussing minimum spatial-awareness requirements for drones, and DJI's move comes against this backdrop of pressure, not separately from it.

The company is presenting the move as a voluntary initiative rather than a response to a binding regulatory requirement already in force. There's also a clear image-related message here: DJI, which holds a dominant share of the consumer drone market, is looking to position itself as a safety leader before regulators dictate the rules to it.

A key limitation: the existing fleet is left out

The new requirement applies only to new models released from now on. Drones already sold and already in use in the field won't gain this capability retroactively. That means the safety benefit will build up gradually, and the share of drones with built-in airborne awareness will only grow as pilots upgrade to newer models.

• Effective date: January 1, 2020
• Relevant weight range: new drones over 250 grams
• Technology: receiving ADS-B Out broadcasts from aircraft and helicopters
• Interface: alerts via the DJI Pilot and DJI Go 4 apps
• Scope: new models only, no retrofit for the existing fleet

Pressure on other manufacturers

A move by a player the size of DJI doesn't happen in a vacuum. Competing drone makers are likely to find themselves under pressure to offer a comparable solution, even if regulators haven't officially forced it on them yet. When a giant manufacturer sets a new technical bar on its own initiative, it leaves the rest of the market with a narrow choice: catch up, or risk falling behind on image and safety in the eyes of both customers and regulators.

The question remains how effective AirSense really is in the field, since it depends on the manned aircraft nearby actually broadcasting ADS-B Out, which isn't always the case with older light aircraft or private aircraft lacking the right equipment. So even a drone with built-in AirSense won't get an alert about every aircraft in its vicinity, only about those transmitting that information.