Earshot is building a mesh of low-cost acoustic sensors that detects small drones, including those with no radio control link, and puts their tracks on a live map. It is for sites that cannot justify a six-figure system.
Occasional updates as the first mesh comes online. For facility operators and anyone following the build.
Strike drones in Ukraine now fly on fiber-optic control, so radio-frequency detectors cannot see them. A propeller still has to move air, and that sound is detectable at close range. Ukraine cues its drone defenses with roughly 9,500 low-cost acoustic sensors, documented in a 2026 US Army field handbook. Acoustic sensing works best as one layer in a fused system, and Earshot is designed to feed the systems a site already has.
Each node holds a microphone array, a small radio receiver for drones that do broadcast, and an onboard computer in a weatherproof box. You mount the nodes and plug them in, where site policy allows, with no integrator visit.
Each node is designed to classify propeller sound on the device and share a bearing. The mesh fuses bearings into tracks on a live map, with alerts to your phone, your alarm panel, or a TAK feed.
Earshot will suggest where to place each node, flag hardware problems, push model updates, and rank alerts. A person reviews the alerts that need a second look.
Published drone-detection pricing today runs from about $10,000 a year for Remote ID monitoring, which only sees drones that broadcast their identity, to six figures for full installations. Earshot's target is one published price. Final pricing will be set after the first field pilots.
Earshot only listens and alerts. It does not jam, capture, or down drones, which is why private sites can operate passive detection today.
Nodes are designed to classify sound on the device. No audio is stored or streamed off the box.
Acoustic range against small drones is hundreds of meters per node, which is why coverage comes from several cheap nodes instead of one tower. Detection range, false alarm rates, and uptime from the first field tests will be published on this page.
Earshot started in July 2026 in New York. The first prototype mesh is in build, and the production mesh is four nodes. Joe Cera, the founder, has been building FPV racing drones at home since 2015 and has worked 13 years as a product manager. If you run a site and want one of the first pilots, or you want to follow the build, leave your email.