TL; DR
Czech startup Neuron Soundware has built Sound Shield, an acoustic drone detection system with artificial intelligence, using sensors costing €100-150 each that consume 1W of power.
Czech startup Neuron Soundware has built an AI-powered acoustic detection system called Sound Shield that identifies drones by the sound of their engines. using microphone sensors that cost between €100 and €150 each. The system is intended as a passive, low-cost alternative to radar for detecting low-flying drones over cities, infrastructure and military facilities. The company, which has used artificial intelligence to eavesdrop on industrial machinery for clients including Airbus, Siemens and BMW over the past decade, is now applying the same acoustic analysis technology to aerospace defense.
The Sound Shield works by deploying tiny sensors called nEdge Minis, each consuming just 1 watt of power and continuously listening for drone engine signatures. The sensors report to Nvidia’s computing platform powered by Jetson modules, which run neural networks on the device to match incoming sounds to a library of known drone acoustic profiles. When the system detects a threat, it alerts a centralized command platform with the drone’s estimated speed, altitude and direction of travel.
This approach exploits a fundamental limitation of drone design. Radar-absorbing coatings and stealth formations can make a drone nearly invisible to traditional detection systems, but no modern technology can silence the mechanical noise of rotors and engines. Each drone, according to Neuron Soundware, produces a distinct acoustic signature that its artificial intelligence can identify in real-time across multiple sensor positions.
Pavel Konečný, founder and CEO of Neuron Soundware, presents Sound Shield as a dual-use system to be applied primarily in electrical transformer stations. “First, they can continuously monitor the health of the transformer itself and other critical components of the distribution network, detecting internal discharges, oil leaks or other operational anomalies.“Konečný said.”At the same time, their microphones are listening to the sky.“
The dual use angle is commercially significant. Instead of asking governments to fund an independent drone detection network from scratch, Neuron Soundware is proposing to buy back the infrastructure that already needs acoustic monitoring. The company claims this will reduce the number of sensors required and give governments a comprehensive air defense layer with minimal additional installation and energy costs.
European governments are fighting for affordable drone detection After the wars in Ukraine and Iran, it demonstrated how cheap UAVs can destroy billions of dollars worth of military equipment. According to Ukrainian officials, in June 2025, Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web used $2,000 drones to destroy approximately $7 billion worth of Russian strategic bombers, although Russia suffered fewer losses. The asymmetry between the cost of drones and the damage they cause has made counter-drone systems one of the fastest-growing segments of defense procurement.
The anti-drone market is expected to more than triple from $6.6 billion in 2025 to $20 billion by 2030. Startups in Europe are raising capital to build sovereign counter-drone capabilitiesand along the Russian border, NATO members have agreed to build a drone detection wall stretching from Norway to Poland. Sound Shield positions itself as a complementary layer, not a replacement, for radar and radio frequency detection.
The economic situation is simple. Modern radar systems capable of detecting small drones cost more than a network of nEdge Minis, and they actively broadcast their position every time they sweep. The Sound Shield’s sensors are passive, meaning they don’t emit any signals that an enemy can detect or jam.
The trade-off is range and reliability.
Acoustic drone detection has well-documented limitations that the source material does not address. Most acoustic systems are effective up to about 300-500 meters under favorable conditions, with performance significantly reduced in wind, rain or noisy urban environments. Ambient noise from traffic, wildlife, and industrial equipment can give false positives.
Newer drone models are also being made with quieter motors that reduce the acoustic signature available for detection. Neuron Soundware claims that its nEdge PRO computing module can integrate data from sensors within a 20-kilometer radius, but no independent tests of this range have been published.
The company has so far raised approximately €7.4 million from investors including Inven Capital, J&T Ventures and Lead Ventures, and received €7 million from the European Innovation Council. It has more than 130 industrial installations of acoustic monitoring equipment on four continents. Whether the transition from listening to pumps and turbines to tracking enemy drones in contested airspace is as transferable as the company suggests remains to be proven in real-world conditions.
