Platforms and Streams

Sky View organises sensor inputs into two complementary concepts:
- Platforms - Streams.

This page explains how they work together so that you can model your fleet and their live feeds consistently.

🛬 Platform essentials

A platform represents the physical or virtual host that carries one or more sensors.
Examples include:

• Aircraft – planes, helicopters or quadcopters equipped with EO/IR cameras or other payloads.
• Ground systems – mobile command posts or fixed towers that aggregate several sensor heads.
• Custom builds – any bespoke rig that houses a sensor.

Each platform entry can store metadata that helps operators understand what is available in the field:

• A descriptive name and optional callsign.
• Platform type (plane, helicopter, quadcopter, custom).
• Location or operating area notes.
• The list of sensors mounted on the platform and the streams they expose.

📹 Streams at a glance

A stream is the actual data feed coming from a sensor (e.g. EO 1080p, IR 640p).
Key properties you can configure include:

• Stream name and short description.
• Source sensor or encoder hardware.
• Media format and transport (MPEG-TS, etc.).
• Access control rules and sharing preferences.

Streams can exist independently from platforms. This is useful when testing new feeds or when a sensor is temporarily deployed without an assigned host. However, linking a stream to its platform unlocks additional management features:

• Filtering: quickly show all streams coming from a specific aircraft or mission package.
• Health monitoring: correlate stream issues with the platform status (maintenance, offline, in-flight).
• Tasking & handoff: operators can hand over an entire platform and automatically include its streams.

💡 By combining platforms and streams thoughtfully, you build a clear picture of every sensor feed in your operation, making troubleshooting, tasking and collaboration significantly easier.