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Velocity – a keyless 3D globe that fuses 15 live Intel feeds
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- DeepHorus
A new open-source tool, Velocity, aggregates 15 live intelligence feeds onto a single 3D globe, offering a self-hosted alternative to commercial tracking services without requiring API keys or accounts. The system, released on Hacker News, fuses live aircraft, ships, satellites, GPS jamming, dark vessels, earthquakes, outages, and conflict events into one interface, correlating data server-side rather than forcing users to juggle multiple tabs. Developed by a coder known as AndrewCTF, Velocity aims to solve the growing problem of paywalled and time-limited historical data from commercial providers.
Commercial services like Flightradar24 restrict replay to 7 days for free users, MarineTraffic recently cut its free window to 24 hours, and ADS-B Exchange eliminated its free API tier entirely. Velocity addresses this by storing all position history on the user‘s own disk, with a scrubber that allows rewinding to any past moment. The archive is persistent once enabled, and no third party can paywall, filter, or cut off access. Additionally, the tool runs as an MCP server, enabling AI agents to query live feeds directly rather than relying on outdated training data.
Key features include thousands of aircraft and vessels rendered with category icons and heading rotations, plus satellite and earthquake data, all displayed on a Cesium globe. Users can zoom into any region for detailed traffic and labels. The system requires a WebGL2-capable browser and can be deployed via Docker with a single command or manually using Node 20+, pnpm 9, and Python 3.12. Core feeds require no API keys; optional keys extend reach for additional layers like weather or radar.
For researchers, journalists, and analysts, Velocity offers full data ownership and independence from service shutdowns or pricing changes. However, the tool is designed as a single-analyst console: most operational state, such as incidents and areas of interest, resides in memory and resets on restart. Only the position-history archive persists to disk. Coverage limitations include denser AIS data over Northern Europe, sparser global vessel tracking, and high VRAM usage for 3D satellite mode.
The developer emphasizes simplicity, stating that Docker is the ‘short road‘ and that no API keys are needed for core feeds. The initial setup includes a guided tour, and the archive strip at the bottom of the screen allows easy time navigation. The project’s scope and limits are fully documented in its repository.
Looking ahead, Velocity could evolve with community contributions, potentially adding more feeds or improving performance. Its self-hosted nature and open-source license may appeal to privacy-conscious users and organizations needing persistent, uncensored geospatial intelligence. As reliance on commercial APIs grows, tools like Velocity provide a resilient alternative for those who control their own infrastructure.
