Embention Showcases Innovation at Xponential Europe 2026
Embention attends XPONENTIAL Europe 2026 in Dusseldorf. Discover the highlights of our presence at Europe’s leading autonomous systems event.
The transponder name is given by the abbreviation transmitter-responder. In terms of air navigation, a transponder is an electronic device placed in a UAV or in a common aircraft that emits a coded identification signal in response to a received interrogation signal from the ground.
Detection and identification of UAVs and aircraft with a transponder
It uses the primary radar (PSR) for the identification of an aircraft or UAV from a control station. This radar is located on the ground and performs the function of a Doppler radar, that is, it emits a wave in one direction. This wave is reflected in the plane and is returned to the antenna. In this way, you can know the range and orientation of an aircraft with a fairly high fidelity, but you cannot know the height unless it is very close.
To know these necessary data from the ground, it uses the secondary surveillance radar (SSR), which is an active transponder that transmits answers to the questions asked from the ground. This response consists of a 4-digit octal identifier. That has the disadvantage that there is actively requesting for the vehicle data from the ground.
Can you avoid other UAVs or aircraft with systems with transponders?
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) appears as a replacement system for the SSR, and it avoids the active request of data. It is a surveillance technology with which a UAV or common aircraft determines its position through satellite navigation and transmits it periodically, which allows its follow-up. Like the interrogation signal is not needed, it is better for tracking and with the identification of aircraft. It can also be used to provide knowledge of the situation of other UAVs or aircraft, offering the opportunity to them to maintain a safe distance, which is called “Collaborative Sense and Avoid.”
What is Veronte Autopilot 1x capable of with a transponder?
Thanks to its versatility, it is possible to integrate into Veronte Autopilot 1x any kind of transponder. Once our transponder is integrated into Veronte Autopilot, we can easily configure it thanks to Veronte Pipe software, like the image shows.
Just indicating the type of our transponder, the way of sending or not, the code to be sent,… our UAV will send messages to identify yourself thanks to the transponder and Veronte Autopilot 1x. It can send it to the ground as well as to any aircraft that requires it in order to add our UAV to a “Collaborative Sense and Avoid” system.
Furthermore, the Veronte autopilot 1x integrates advanced features of sense and avoid, both collaborative and non-collaborative. Thanks to the integration with the transponders and ADS-B-In, and with transponder receivers, Veronte identifies the position of other collaborative aircraft, avoiding the collision with them in a totally autonomous way.
