[HN Gopher] Show HN: Skies-adsb 2.0 - my 3D plane-tracking web app
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Show HN: Skies-adsb 2.0 - my 3D plane-tracking web app
Hello, I'd like to share a 3D plane tracking web app that I
developed called: skies-adsb. Living near KMIA (a very busy
airport), I spend a lot of time plane spotting and thought it would
be cool to track planes in 3D. In October 2021, I built a
prototype 3D ADS-B flight tracker called skies-adsb using p5.js.
In April 2022, I released version 1.0 of skies-adsb, rewritten in
Three.js. However, this release still relied on manual editing of
GeoJSON layers. By late 2024, I had learned enough about GIS and
GeoPandas to automate map creation using custom GeoJSON layers.
During the Christmas holiday, I developed a script to generate
these layers from Natural Earth, FAA, and OpenStreetMap data using
GeoPandas, then refactored skies-adsb to render multiple GeoJSON
layers. Today, version 2.0 of skies-adsb is available! This
release simplifies installation, automates GeoJSON map creation,
and features a new rendering engine. skies-adsb is compatible with
all major WebGL-enabled mobile and desktop browsers. To run skies-
adsb you will need an RTL-SDR receiver and a Linux workstation or
Raspberry Pi, or you can connect to an existing RTL-SDR ADS-B
installation. Working on this app has brought me a lot of joy and
I also learned a lot about aviation, weather, GIS, and Three.js
along the way. I use it daily, typically leaving it running in the
background like a digital aquarium. I hope you enjoy it too.
Please check out skies-adsb by following the links below: Source
Code: https://github.com/llopisdon/skies-adsb Video of skies-adsb:
https://youtu.be/HnY1vFUBXS0
Author : llopisdon
Score : 27 points
Date : 2025-02-12 06:54 UTC (16 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| sirjaz wrote:
| Any plans on making this a native app without the overhead of
| having a server service running?
| llopisdon wrote:
| Hi. I'm not planning a native app at this time. I created an
| experimental native app using Godot, but in the end I decided
| to focus on the web app. The app is a PWA so it provides a
| native like experience if that is desired (works on both mobile
| and desktop)--this is how I use it when I'm on my phone or
| tablet. Most users likely already have an ADS-B tracker that
| usually includes a local lighttpd web server for 2D traffic
| viewing. The app integrates with these existing setups. Users
| who don't want to alter their setup can run the app using the
| included Vite development server and websocket proxy to connect
| to a ADS-B tracker. Instructions are in `docs/LOCALHOST-SETUP-
| GUIDE.md`.
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Is there any good free ADS-B platform these days? I know
| adsbexchange got bought up by a private jet charter company. So I
| guess they'll start blocking all sorts of stuff.
| cjrp wrote:
| https://www.adsbexchange.com/
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Yeah but they're sold off. The founder sold out the
| community. A lot of feeders have stopped but I was wondering
| where they went :)
| diggan wrote:
| ADSBx (https://www.adsbexchange.com/) is still supposedly
| unfiltered.
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Hmm if they're not filtering now they will soon. It's an
| executive jet charter company. What other reason would they
| have to buy it?
| diggan wrote:
| They got bought early 2023 according to the website, if
| they're not already filtering data, why would they suddenly
| start doing that? The company that bought them don't seem
| to be mainly a jet charter a company, but describe
| themselves as a "Aviation Market Data" company.
| sipjca wrote:
| adsb.lol airplanes.live
|
| adsbexchange was also bought out by private equity recently,
| these two seem to be some of the larger fully community driven
| resources.
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Oh yes exchange that was the one I meant that was sold off,
| sorry.
|
| I'll check those out thanks!
| llopisdon wrote:
| Hi. There are a couple free ADS-B platforms left:
|
| https://adsb.fi/
|
| https://opensky-network.org/
| zX41ZdbW wrote:
| I did research on that topic when implementing my project
| https://adsb.exposed/
|
| The list of all data exchanges is here:
| https://github.com/ClickHouse/adsb.exposed/?tab=readme-ov-fi...
|
| One of the best is https://airplanes.live/ - which currently
| aggregates data from nearly 1700 feeders globally; they have a
| legal agreement preventing sale of this data (to avoid
| situations like with adsbexchange); they share the data on a
| selective basis.
|
| One of the largest ones, Opensky Network - is supposed to be
| open for research purposes but they refused my request straight
| ahead.
|
| https://adsb.lol/ - is controversial. This database is made
| available under the Open Database License:
| http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/ plus under CC0,
| but there is some drama that I don't understand:
| https://github.com/ClickHouse/adsb.exposed/issues/12#issueco...
| plipt wrote:
| Very cool
|
| Congrats, this looks nice
|
| Does this app render the flights to fit the curvature of the
| earth?
|
| Was looking for something like this during the New Jersey drone
| flap to help identify distant flights from the perspective of
| someone on the ground
| llopisdon wrote:
| Thanks!
|
| The app currently renders aircraft and maps on a flat plane
| using latitude, longitude, and altitude, via the
| sphericalmercator library:
|
| https://github.com/mapbox/sphericalmercator
|
| My understanding is that the ADS-B latitude and longitude are
| based on the WGS 84 coordinate system, which accounts for the
| Earth's curvature, but the app itself doesn't project these
| coordinates onto a curved surface.
|
| I'd appreciate suggestions from HN users with map projection
| expertise on how to accomplish this. I'm also interested in
| learning more.
|
| One of my next projects is to get a better understanding of GIS
| coordinate reference systems in order to be able to create 3d
| globle renderings of the data. I purchased the following two
| books to better understand map projection implementation:
|
| 3D Engine Design for Virtual Globes by Patrick Cozzi and Kevin
| Ring
|
| Flattening the Earth by John P. Snyder
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(page generated 2025-02-12 23:00 UTC)