Real Time Passive Radar Running Native on the ADALM-PLUTO ARM CPU

The ADALM-Pluto (aka PlutoSDR) is a US$149 TX/RX capable SDR that we have posted about several times in the past. It has a tuning range from 70 MHz to 6000 MHz with a bandwidth of up to 56 MHz (with software hack applied). One additional useful feature on the PlutoSDR is it's built in ARM CPU, which can be used to run programs on board the SDR itself. 

Over on his blog Mike has shown how he implemented simple passive radar code on the PlutoSDR's ARM processor. This means that no PC or other hardware is required to process the data, the entire script can be run via a SSH connection to the PlutoSDR. Mike doesn't seem to have shared his script anywhere, but one of his previous posts explains the process. The script creates the video in real time on board the PlutoSDR's ARM CPU, which is then streamed via ffplay to a PC with a screen. On his second post Mike shows some extra videos of passive radar working with FM Broadcast and DVB-T signals.

Passive radar is a radio technique allows you to detect and track RF reflective objects such as aircraft using strong signals from already existing transmission towers, such as broadcast FM or DVB-T signals.