OpenDroneID BLE Receiver

Home Assistant integration to detect drones via BLE Remote ID broadcasts using ESPHome Bluetooth Proxies.

Since January 2024, all drones sold in the EU must broadcast their identification and location via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) according to the Remote ID standard. This integration allows you to detect these drones in your area using your existing ESPHome Bluetooth proxies.

Features

• 🛸 Drone Detection - Automatically detects drones transmitting BLE Remote ID
• 📍 Real-time Position Tracking - Shows drone position on Home Assistant maps
• 🏠 Pilot Location - Displays operator/pilot position when available
• 📡 Multi-Proxy Support - Uses all your existing ESPHome BLE proxies
• 🔋 No Additional Hardware - Works with your existing ESPHome devices
• ⚡ Instant Updates - Real-time data via BLE advertisements

Standards Compliance

This integration decodes Remote ID broadcasts compliant with:

• ASTM F3411-22a - Standard Specification for Remote ID (FAA)
• ASD-STAN prEN 4709-002 - European Standard for UAS Remote ID (EU)

Requirements

• Home Assistant 2026.1 or newer
• One or more ESPHome devices with bluetooth_proxy enabled
• Drones in range transmitting BLE Remote ID (mandatory in EU since Jan 2024)

Installation

HACS (Recommended)

1. Open HACS in Home Assistant
2. Click the three dots menu (⋮) → Custom repositories
3. Add https://github.com/jleinenbach/ha-opendroneid as Integration
4. Search for "OpenDroneID" in HACS
5. Click Download
6. Restart Home Assistant

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
2. Extract and copy custom_components/opendroneid to your config/custom_components/ directory
3. Restart Home Assistant

Configuration

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click + Add Integration
3. Search for "OpenDroneID"
4. Configure the inactive timeout (default: 120 seconds)
5. Click Submit

That's it! The integration will automatically use all available Bluetooth adapters and ESPHome proxies to detect drones.

Configuration Options

Option	Default	Description
Inactive Timeout	120s	Time before a drone is removed after losing signal
DragonSync Enabled	Off	Forward drone data to DragonSync via ZMQ
DragonSync Host	-	IP address or hostname of DragonSync server
DragonSync Port	4224	ZMQ port for DragonSync

DragonSync Integration

If you have DragonSync running, you can forward all detected drone data to its web map. Enable "DragonSync forwarding" and enter your DragonSync server's IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100).

Entities Created

For each detected drone, the integration creates a device_tracker entity:

Device Tracker

Entity ID	Description
device_tracker.drone_<id>	Drone position for map display

Attributes

Each drone entity includes these attributes:

Attribute	Description
latitude	Current latitude (WGS84)
longitude	Current longitude (WGS84)
altitude	Geodetic altitude in meters
altitude_barometric	Pressure altitude in meters
height	Height above takeoff/ground
speed	Horizontal speed in m/s
vertical_speed	Vertical speed in m/s
heading	Direction in degrees (0-360)
uas_id	Drone serial number or registration
id_type	ID type (Serial, CAA Registration, etc.)
ua_type	Aircraft type (Helicopter, Aeroplane, etc.)
status	Operational status (Ground, Airborne, Emergency)
operator_latitude	Pilot/operator latitude
operator_longitude	Pilot/operator longitude
operator_id	Operator registration ID
rssi	Signal strength in dBm
last_seen	Timestamp of last received message

Entity States

State	Description
ground	Drone is on the ground
airborne	Drone is flying
emergency	Drone declared emergency
malfunction	Remote ID system failure
unknown	Status not reported

ESPHome Proxy Configuration

Ensure your ESPHome devices have Bluetooth proxy enabled:

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: esp-idf  # Recommended for best BLE performance

bluetooth_proxy:
  active: true

Tip: For best coverage, distribute multiple ESPHome proxies around your property. The integration will combine data from all proxies.

Dashboard Examples

Map Card

type: map
entities:
  - device_tracker.drone_abc123def456
default_zoom: 15

Entities Card with Drone Info

type: entities
title: Detected Drones
entities:
  - entity: device_tracker.drone_abc123def456
    secondary_info: attribute
    attribute: uas_id

Automation Example

automation:
  - alias: "Drone Detected Alert"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: device_tracker.drone_abc123def456
        to: "airborne"
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "Drone Detected!"
          message: "A drone is flying nearby"

How It Works

┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│  ESPHome Proxy  │────▶│  Home Assistant │────▶│  Device Tracker │
│  (BLE Scanner)  │     │  (This Integr.) │     │  + Map Display  │
└─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘
         ▲
         │ BLE Advertisement
         │ Service UUID: 0xFFFA
         │
    ┌─────────────┐
    │   Drone     │
    │ (Remote ID) │
    └─────────────┘

1. Drones broadcast Remote ID data via BLE (Service UUID 0xFFFA)
2. ESPHome proxies receive advertisements and forward to Home Assistant
3. This integration decodes the OpenDroneID protocol
4. Creates device_tracker entities with GPS coordinates
5. Entities appear on maps and can trigger automations

Troubleshooting

No Drones Detected

1. Check ESPHome proxies - Ensure bluetooth_proxy is enabled and active
2. Verify BLE range - Remote ID broadcasts have limited range (~300-500m)
3. Check drone compliance - Not all drones transmit Remote ID (older models, DIY)
4. Enable debug logging:

logger:
  logs:
    custom_components.opendroneid: debug

Drones Disappear Quickly

Increase the inactive timeout in the integration options.

Position Not Updating

The drone may not be transmitting location data (e.g., GPS not acquired). Check the status attribute.

Privacy & Legal

This integration only receives publicly broadcast Remote ID data. Drones are legally required to transmit this information for aviation safety. The data received includes:

• Drone identification (serial number or registration)
• Drone position and altitude
• Pilot/operator position
• Flight status

No private data is collected. All information is broadcast openly by the drone per legal requirements.

Related Projects

• opendroneid-core-c - Reference C implementation
• DragonSync - Alternative receiver with dedicated hardware
• Bermuda BLE Trilateration - BLE room presence tracking

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

For bug reports, please open an issue.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• OpenDroneID community for protocol documentation
• ESPHome team for the excellent Bluetooth proxy
• Home Assistant community

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Note: This integration is not affiliated with any drone manufacturer. Remote ID is a regulatory requirement, not a tracking feature.