Real-time Airplane Tracking with ADS-B Signals and RTL-SDR Radios

Use the software-defined radio capabilities that are part of Communications Toolbox™ to capture and decode ADS-B messages. ADS-B is a relatively simple standard used by commercial aircraft to transmit flight data such as aircraft ID, position, velocity, and altitude to air traffic control centers. ADS-B messages are 56 or 112 bits long, the data rate is 1 Mbit/sec, and the messages are amplitude modulated signals, transmitted at a carrier frequency of 1090 MHz. The radio hardware used is a low-cost NooElec™ RTL-SDR, connected to a PC, and the software constantly receives ADS-B waveform into MATLAB^®. With this you can decode messages and display information about real-time location and other attributes of airplanes that are in range.