Aether. Unlike any other.

Immersive Real-Time VR Flight Tracker

Experience live air traffic control from your living room.
Visualize real-time flight data in a stunning 3D environment using the power of the web.

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✨ Overview

Aether turns global air traffic data into a tangible reality. Built for both desktop and VR headsets (Meta Quest etc.), it fetches live flight positions from the OpenSky Network and renders them in high-fidelity 3D. Whether you're a flight enthusiast or just love data visualization, Aether puts you in the center of the airspace.

Key Features

• 🥽 WebXR Immersive Mode: Step into the map with full VR support for Meta Quest and compatible headsets.
• ✈️ Real-Time Tracking: Live position updates via WebSocket for butter-smooth aircraft movement.
• 🌍 3D Geospatial Environment: Powered by Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles for immersive cities and landscapes, layered over Cesium World Terrain for global accuracy.
• 🎯 Interactive Inspection: "Laser point" at aircraft to reveal detailed telemetry (speed, altitude, airline, trajectory).
• 📍 Location Freedom: Teleport anywhere in the world to monitor local airspace.

💡 Real-Life Use Cases

• 🛩️ Plane Spotting 2.0: Identify the exact flight flying over your house in real-time AR/VR just by looking up.
• 🎓 Aviation Education: Visualize flight corridors, approach paths, and air traffic density in a tangible 3D space.
• 🧘 Immersive Relaxation: Teleport to a busy airport like Heathrow or Haneda and watch the traffic flow from a "God Mode" perspective.

🏗️ Architecture

Aether is built on a modern full-stack architecture tailored for low-latency visualization.

graph TD
    User((User)) -->|WebXR / Browser| Client[<b>Aether Client</b><br/>React + Three.js + Cesium]
    Client <-->|WebSocket| Server[<b>Aether Server</b><br/>Node.js + Express]
    Client -->|REST| Server
    
    subgraph Backend Services
    Server -->|Cache| InMem[In-Memory Cache]
    end
    
    subgraph External APIs
    OpenSky[OpenSky Network API]
    Elevation[Open-Elevation API]
    Google3D[Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles]
    end
    
    Server -->|Polling| OpenSky
    Client -.->|Terrain Data| Elevation
    Client -.->|Tiles| Google3D

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Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Three.js (via React Three Fiber), CesiumJS, TailwindCSS.
• Backend: Node.js, Express, WebSocket.
• Data Sources: OpenSky Network (Flights), Open-Elevation (Terrain).
• DevOps: Docker, Docker Compose.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• npm or pnpm
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Aether.git
   cd Aether

2. Install dependencies

   npm run install:all

3. Configure Environment Create a .env file in the server/ directory. You can copy the example:

   cp server/env.example server/.env

   Note: For higher rate limits, add your OpenSky credentials to .env.

4. Launch Aether

   npm run dev

   This spins up the backend on port 8080 and the frontend on port 3000.

🐳 Docker Usage

Prefer containers? We got you.

docker compose up --build

Access the app at http://localhost:3000.

🎮 Controls

Action	Desktop	VR Controller
Move Camera	Mouse Drag	Thumbstick
Select Flight	Left Click	Laser Pointer + Trigger
Calibrate Direction		Left Controller Trigger + Rotate It
Change Mode	UI Buttons	UI Buttons (In browser)

📂 Project Structure

Aether/
├── client/              # React application (Vite)
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/  # 3D & UI Components
│   │   └── hooks/       # Flight data logic
├── server/              # Node.js Express API
│   ├── src/             
│   │   └── services/    # Data fetching & Caching
├── shared/              # Types shared between Front/Back
├── docker-compose.yml   # Container orchestration
└── README.md            # You are here

📄 License

All Rights Reserved.

This software is proprietary and confidential. No part of this software may be copied, modified, distributed, or reverse engineered without the express written permission of the author.

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Built with ❤️ by Eduard Šimon
Data provided by OpenSky Network