Aviation Mapper is LIVE! Click here to use it.



The Aviation Mapper launch video

This project is a completely home-grown implementation of an aircraft tracking system using Mode S messages received on a Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) from Ettus Research. The system comprises of a software-defined baseband decoder, a GUI front-end and a real-time (smooth) JavaScript-enabled Google Earth feed.

For the Mode S/aviation/RF enthusiast: If you are interested in various notes, diagrams and screenshots that are more technical than these series of pages, please check out the dedicated page on my wiki as well.

Modez, Aviation Mapper and Software Defined Radio featured in GQ Australia (April/May)!

Screenshots from the GUI front-ends:



A plane at 514 km, with trails left behind showing flight corridors



Looking at an angle at Sydney Airport, with planes landing on overlapping approach trails.

ACARS messages shown spatially as coloured dots with message label and content in balloon pop-up.



Spatial representation of ACARS message transactions building up over half a day



Accumulated flight paths over half a day



The Aviation Mapper desktop app



Running live at Sydney Airport streaming AvMap via 3G mobile Internet



Running the Aviation Mapper desktop app



Presentation at Dorkbot Sydney Finale 2011



Presentation at Ruxcon 2011: "Hacking the wireless world with Software Defined Radio

Click on a book section in the top left (or below) to explore the project further.