QuadRF can spot drones and see WiFi through my wall
The QuadRF is a new open-source phased-array radio system built on a Raspberry Pi and FPGA that can detect drones and WiFi signals through walls. While the technology has significant surveillance implications, its creator intends it for radio astronomy and experimental RF research.
Why it matters
It highlights the democratization of advanced signal processing tools, raising questions about privacy and the accessibility of powerful surveillance-capable hardware.
The QuadRF (pictured above) a phased-array radio built around a Raspberry Pi 5 and an FPGA board with picosecond-level timing. It does advanced signal processing and beamforming.
It can see WiFi through walls and track drones in flight.
If the open source community can come up with something like this, just imagine what governments are capable of.
When you plug a computer into a network, tools like Wireshark can show all the hidden traffic you might not even know is there. WiFi packets are the same, but those travel through the air, allowing snooping without physical access.
The QuadRF has built-in software that can stream and decode RF, and you can pipe it out to a more powerful computer for things like WiFi traffic analysis.
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