DIY Flight Tracker Projects Live Air Traffic onto a Ceiling for Under $100

A software developer has created a real-time flight tracker that projects live air traffic data onto his ceiling. The system, built for under $100, uses a Raspberry Pi and an ADS-B radio receiver to monitor planes passing overhead. His new home sits directly beneath the flight paths of San Francisco International Airport, inspiring the project. The developer assembled the tracker using affordable components, including a Raspberry Pi and a projector. Anthropic’s Claude AI tool helped generate the code needed to process flight data. The system displays details like airline, flight number, aircraft type, altitude, and destination in real time.

A pan-tilt-zoom camera was added to automatically track passing planes. The live footage streams directly to his TV, allowing him to watch aircraft as they fly by. He often recognises regular flights, such as the Emirates Airbus A380 heading to Dubai around 5 p.m.

The project remains a personal experiment, with no plans for commercialisation. Instead, the developer has made the design open-source. This lets others with the right hardware and technical skills build their own version. The flight tracker combines real-time data with live video to monitor overhead air traffic. Its open-source nature makes it accessible to hobbyists and tech enthusiasts. The developer continues to use it as a personal tool, with no intention of turning it into a business.