Detecting vs decoding

Two levels of ambition, not to be confused:

Detecting (presence) — answering "is there a signal, where, how wide, how strong?". That's what the academy's engine does: FFT → floor → peaks. No need to know the protocol. Enough for: mapping a band, spotting interference, detecting a drone's presence, measuring occupancy.

Decoding (content) — extracting the information: demodulating, recovering the bits, the protocol, the message. Far more demanding: you need to know the modulation, the sync, the coding, sometimes the cryptography.

Some classic, accessible decodes: FM audio (simple demodulation), ADS-B (aircraft), AIS (ships), NOAA imagery, and the large family of ISM sensors via dedicated tools.

Why stop at detection so often? Because it is:

generic (works without knowing the protocol),
robust (you don't need much SNR just to "see"),
honest (a non-compliant drone won't decode, but its wideband energy still detects).

A project's next step is often: detect first, then add a targeted decoder for one specific band.