Software engineer Cameron Paczek has built an open-source project called Skylight that turns a ceiling into a live aircraft tracker, using a Raspberry Pi, ADS-B radio, and projector to show planes flying overhead in real time.
TL;DR
- Skylight projects live aircraft paths onto a ceiling using Raspberry Pi, RTL-SDR radio, and a 1080p projector.
- It receives ADS-B signals locally instead of only depending on flight-tracking apps.
- The open-source project can also display stars, the Moon, satellites, and the International Space Station.
- A ready-made kit is expected through crowdfunding soon.
The Coolest Flight Tracker Is Now On The Ceiling
Aviation enthusiasts have a new way to identify what is flying over their homes, and it does not involve constantly opening Flightradar24 or FlightAware.
As reported by The Autopian, Cameron Paczek’s Skylight Ceiling uses a Raspberry Pi 5, an RTL-SDR Blog V4 USB radio antenna, and an Optoma GT2100HDR projector to place live aircraft movement directly onto a ceiling. The system captures ADS-B signals from aircraft in the area, decodes them through the Raspberry Pi, and projects the aircraft’s position in 1080p resolution.
Skylight is especially interesting because it does not behave like a simple flight-tracking dashboard. Instead, it turns the room into a kind of aviation planetarium, showing planes, aircraft trails, the Sun, Moon, stars, constellations, satellites, and even the International Space Station.
The official Skylight website describes the idea simply as, “Every plane overhead, on your ceiling.” It also notes that the system listens to aircraft passing over a home and projects them in real time, along with the real sky above the user.
Topics For More InsightsHow Does Skylight Work?
The core technology behind Skylight is ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast. The Federal Aviation Administration says ADS-B is transforming aviation with real-time precision, shared situational awareness, and advanced applications for pilots and controllers.
In Skylight’s case, a software-defined radio picks up ADS-B broadcasts from nearby aircraft. The Raspberry Pi decodes that information, while the projector displays each aircraft as a glowing visual element on the ceiling.
The official GitHub repository describes Skylight as a way to “Project the aircraft passing overhead onto your ceiling, in real time.” The system can show an aircraft’s airline, type, destination, altitude, and distance to destination, while rendering the sky behind it.
The GitHub page also lists features such as type-aware aircraft visuals, smooth motion interpolation, comet trails, altitude-graded colors, range rings, compass orientation, destination arcs, and a live sky layer with the Sun, Moon, bright stars, constellation lines, satellites, and ISS tracking.
The Hardware Can Be Cheap Or Expensive
Paczek’s showcased build used premium equipment, including the Optoma GT2100HDR projector, which The Autopian noted could cost up to $1,500. However, the project does not require that exact projector.
Paczek’s site says the build needs a radio, a Raspberry Pi, and any projector, while the software remains fully open source. The GitHub hardware notes recommend an RTL-SDR Blog V4 with dipole antenna, Raspberry Pi 5 with 8 GB for the full setup, a 1080p projector, micro-HDMI to HDMI display link, and a ceiling-facing mount.
Tom’s Hardware noted that a budget version of the setup could be assembled for under $400. For users who do not want to build it themselves, Paczek is also preparing a ready-made kit.
The Skylight website says the kit is “coming to a crowdfunding platform soon,” while The Autopian reports that Paczek hopes to sell the ready-to-run device for around $500.
It’s a niche project, but a delightful one. Instead of converting flight data into another app notification, Skylight turns everyday air traffic into ambient computing, aviation art, and a live sky map all at once.
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