Crowdsourcing is in the air

Just finished to read an interesting article explaining how apps like FlightRadar24 and FlightAware are harvesting the data to pinpoint airplanes in the sky.
I thought that such data would come from air traffic control, airports and airlines and most of them do.  However an increasing number of data is now harvested through crowdsourcing, something I wouldn’t have imagined.
On the way towards the next generation of flight control a new tracking system is now being used by more and more aircraft: ADS-B, Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcasting. The ADS-B is basically a receiver that captures the GPS positioning data generated by aircraft every 30". This leads to a much better accuracy than the one achievable by commercial radar (around 500m): the localisation is within 10m.
By 2020 FAA is demanding all aircrafts flying the US airspace to be equipped with ADS-B.
Now comes the interesting part. FAA is investing in the deployment of ADS-B receivers but also FlightRadar24 and FlightAware, two small companies that have developed (free) apps to run on your smartphone, are also helping in extending the coverage of ADS-B by providing an open access to instruction on how to develop a do-it-yourself ADS-B receiver and how to share data. The receiver (proposed by FlightAware) is based on Raspberry-Pi and can cost a few hundred dollars. FlightAware is distributing 70-100 of these receiver per month to hobbyists and is encouraging other to develop their own and share data. As of March 2015 FlightAware is receiving data from over 2,600 hobbyists ADS-B receivers.  FlightRadar24 is similarly providing hobbyists with ADS-B receivers, enrolling hobbyists particularly in those areas where there is little commercial coverage and so far has deployed over 6,000 receivers. All together these two companies have achieved a coverage of about 80% of the Earth landmass (covering 90 Countries), and this is based on crowdsourcing. Amazing, isn’t it?
It is important to note that ADS-B broadcasts GPS positioning data in clear, anyone can get these data. FlightAware and FlightRadar24 aggregate data from all over the Earth and hence have a complete data base of flying aircrafts (plus all historical records) whilst as a hobbyist you could only get with an ADS-B receiver data from aircrafts flying over your receiver (in hundred km radius).
FlightAware has made its software Open Source and has published APIs to access its data base whilst FlightRadar24 is more closed. 
What is interesting is that we are seeing a crowdsourced infrastructure that would have been impossible just 10 years ago. And even better. The resulting infrastructure is open to third parties to create services and generate business.

About Roberto Saracco

Roberto Saracco fell in love with technology and its implications long time ago. His background is in math and computer science. Until April 2017 he led the EIT Digital Italian Node and then was head of the Industrial Doctoral School of EIT Digital up to September 2018. Previously, up to December 2011 he was the Director of the Telecom Italia Future Centre in Venice, looking at the interplay of technology evolution, economics and society. At the turn of the century he led a World Bank-Infodev project to stimulate entrepreneurship in Latin America. He is a senior member of IEEE where he leads the New Initiative Committee and co-chairs the Digital Reality Initiative. He is a member of the IEEE in 2050 Ad Hoc Committee. He teaches a Master course on Technology Forecasting and Market impact at the University of Trento. He has published over 100 papers in journals and magazines and 14 books.