Sunday, September 8 — 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Avionics - II Track

This tutorial introduces the OpenSky Network (https://opensky-network.org), a community-based receiver network which continuously collects air traffic surveillance data and makes it accessible to researchers for free. Using a global network of over 1000 Mode S and ADS-B receivers, the network has collected and provides over 1 PB of surveillance data. This data has been used by academics, authorities and companies around the world for their research, resulting in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications to date. We will provide an overview on how the OpenSky Network works and which data is available. Moreover, using several case studies, they will demonstrate what kind of analyses are possible and how to use OpenSky’s data set for your research.

Key Takeaways
  • Get to know the “Flightradar24” of the research world
  • Learn how to use OpenSky’s data and what to expect
  • Learn about examples of successful studies with OpenSky’s data
Target Audience

Anyone interested in any of the following domains:

  • Aviation data analysis
  • CNS Systems
  • NextGen/SESAR participants
  • Collision Avoidance Systems
  • Air Transportation
  • Air Traffic Management

Dr. Martin Strohmeier

Kellogg College, University of Oxford and Swiss Cyber Defense Campus

Dr. Matthias Schäfer

DISCO Group at TU Kaiserslautern, Germany

Dr. Martin Strohmeier is a Junior Research Fellow of Kellogg College, University of Oxford and a Scientific Project Manager at the Swiss Cyber Defense Campus. His work predominantly focuses on developing cyber-physical approaches which can improve the security and privacy of air traffic control quickly and efficiently. He is also a co-founder of the aviation research network OpenSky. Before coming to Oxford in 2012, he received his MSc degree from TU Kaiserslautern, Germany and joined Lancaster University's InfoLab21 and Lufthansa AG as a visiting researcher. His work on aviation security received several awards from the aviation and computer security communities, including the DASC 2015 Best Paper Award.


Dr. Matthias Schäfer is a lecturer and researcher at the DISCO Group at TU Kaiserslautern, Germany. His research focus is on wireless security, everything CNS, and large-scale air traffic surveillance. He is also a co-founder and board member of the OpenSky Network association as well as founder and managing director of SeRo Systems GmbH. He received his PhD from TU Kaiserslautern in 2018. Before that, he worked for the Information Technology and Cyberspace group of armasuisse S+T and visited the University of Oxford (Prof. Ivan Martinovic) in 2012.