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"I have been involved with AIS from the beginning-helping to guide this technology from Class A into Class B devices, Base Stations, AIS for Aids to Navigation and now even Airborne AIS. Although I had known about Satellite AIS in its basic form before, when I heard about exactEarth and the technology behind exactAIS®, my interest was piqued. When I finally met the people at exactEarth, I knew I wanted to be a part of this team...Satellite AIS-done right, absolutely has a place in the AIS community and I wanted to be a part of it! I want to share my thoughts on my experiences here at exactEarth and on our technology and hope you find it as interesting as I do." CONTACT: E-mail Peggy at peggy.browning@exactearth.com
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 Graham Stickler, Senior Director of Global Marketing for exactEarth |
"I have been involved with geospatial data since I started my career 30 years ago as a research hydrologist mapping the earth from space. Since then I have worked around the world designing, building and implementing geospatial based solutions across many industries and the open integration of geospatial data into mainstream IT has been a growing passion since the early GIS days. As a result I have been heavily involved in the development of geospatial extensions to relational databases working with the likes of Esri on SDE, Oracle on Oracle Spatial, and Microsoft on SQL Server Spatial. The development and adoption of Open Standards forms part of this passion and I was the inaugural Chair of the OGC Working Group on Data Quality. More recently I have become fascinated by the exciting prospects of integrating geospatial data and Business Intelligence solutions specifically (GeoBI). With 70% of the Planet covered by the world’s oceans I’m excited to now be at exactEarth and being focused away from the land and on the ‘high seas’! I hope to share some of my excitement and provoke thought and discussions here on this Blog." CONTACT: E-mail Graham at graham.stickler@exactearth.com
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| DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of exactEarth | |
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Location-Based Services in the Maritime World May 14, 2012 In an asset management presentation many years ago I defined LBS as meaning some sort of automated service that enables the dynamic supply of information for geospatial position, that can then be used to track or follow the target object or locate its position relative to other objects of interest. Sorry, bit of a mouthful – I was young and wild once! In other words, gather and make sense of an object’s location and then pass this to an intelligent application that uses this location-based information to deliver a service of some sort. Simple right? Satellite AIS (S-AIS) it seems to me enables exactly that – although I’ve not yet seen it mentioned in such terms. I appreciate of course that with S-AIS only really being reliably operational for the last 22 months or so, that it will take time for such a new technology to mature into the marketplace but clearly the applications, as with traditional land-based LBS, must be huge. We talk here at exactEarth about S-AIS helping Secure Borders, Protect the Environment, Enhance Trade, and Save Lives, but it seems to me that should be the tip of the iceberg as what has traditionally be considered a blind spot is now ‘in view’. The key of course, as was found with LBS in the past, will be the delivery mechanisms for such data. Fast, simple, lightweight, delivery of data packaged to the end users’ needs will be the acid test. We started down this route this week here at exactEarth when we ‘published’ our first interactive S-AIS map onto the internet. Take a look here at our tracking of the yacht Nereida. It’s pretty cool, as we used to say in the early days of GIS, but beyond that, is this now the beginning of LBS in the open oceans? So, maybe you heard it here first? S-AIS is LBS for the high seas!
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From Here to There and Back Again May 3, 2012 So I thought I would enlist the help of my new colleagues. My removal company seemed a little surprised when I emailed them and asked for full details of the ship that my container would be travelling on including name, IMO number and MMSI, but they happily obliged. I gave this to the technical team here at exactEarth and before you could say “Satellite AIS” I had a little map-based app on my desktop allowing me to track my precious cargo all the way across the Atlantic from Felixstowe to Antwerp and then to Montreal. So we watched …………and the rest, as they say, is history and we soon welcomed all our precious belongings to our new home here in Canada (ahead of schedule I might add!). So thank you Robinsons International Removals Limited in the UK, Maersk Line, AMJ Campbell International in Canada, and last but not least exactAIS for the constant reassurance. Now, where to start on unpacking over 150 ‘cartons’?
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AIS SART Devices Now Approved in the U.S. May 2, 2012 If I were ever involved in an incident, I would certainly want my life jacket to contain an AIS device that is continually transmitting my position, but those of us who work to define standards for these devices must be careful to consider these large populations and ensure that they can be tracked easily and efficiently. The ITU has recently set aside two channels for satellite detection of Class A AIS devices. These channels can be used by much larger populations of AIS devices, such as AIS man-over-board devices, provided that the new devices do not interfere with detection of Class A devices. However, these AIS units are typically much lower power devices so they will need adjustments for consistent detection from space. These adjustments could be anything from modulation to protocol changes and in fact, exactEarth is studying alternatives that might be applied in the future. Whatever changes are required, it should be recognized that detection from space for AIS search and rescue devices is not just a "nice to have", it is a "must have".
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Exciting Times Ahead in the Maritime World April 26, 2012 I found it very interesting recently to talk to Jack Dangermond of Esri, who clearly has a similar view. Last year he appointed Dawn Wright, a prominent Ocean Scientist, as their new Chief Scientist with a remit to ‘create’ OceanGIS. Add to this that the Defence Geospatial Intelligence (DGI) show in London in January this year had a Maritime Track for the very first time in its history, and in June a whole new Conference is scheduled specifically aimed at the Maritime Geospatial world called GeoMaritime 2012. Suddenly it seems the Maritime world is a very exciting place to be! Many years ago, trying hard to pretend that I was just a ‘physical’ geographer, I realised that it’s impossible to ignore the human interaction in the physical world – we are after all such an invasive species – and so I’m really excited now to be here at exactEarth where we can provide a complete picture on ship movements across the whole globe. Gone are the days where ships went ‘invisible’ 50 or so miles out from port and only re-appeared when they encroached again within the same limit. We now have a complete view of global ship movements. As with every industry I’ve worked with in my career, how we integrate such (geo)data will prove to be the key to its success. The possibilities are huge. 90% of the world’s trade takes place across the Ocean, the retreating ice sheets are opening up hitherto inaccessible areas, piracy is increasing at alarming rates, and as the concept of OceanGIS develops, understanding the interaction of man in this ‘remote’ environment will prove invaluable. So maybe it’s a fateful coincidence, but I can’t help but be excited. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences in this brave new world here on this blog.
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Post-Titanic Advances in Maritime Security April 17, 2012 First of all, the NAVTEX system would have alerted ship personnel of any iceberg activity in the area and, in all likelihood, would have prevented the disaster entirely. If we assume the ship did not act on the information and hit the iceberg, the following actions would happen today. The GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) would have immediately gone into action. The distress signal would be activated and then the on-board system would independently and continuously send distress alerts via VHF, MF, HF and satellite indicating the ship type, type of distress, position of the ship as well as the channel for voice communication (channel 16 now reserved for this). The AIS system would be used by ship personnel to determine if any ships are in the immediate area to assist. Those near-by vessels would have identification associated with them so that directed radio communications could begin. In addition, the AIS system could be used to send and receive safety text messages so that the rescue ship would have full details of the situation. The EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) device would be activated by ship personnel, providing additional positioning sources. These devices float free of the vessel so they would remain with survivors, continuing to provide updated positions as the lifeboats made their way to safety. Each lifeboat would also be equipped with a SART (Search and Rescue Transponder) that would either be passive for radar detection or active for AIS detection. It may also be worth noting, that in future, every life jacket will be equipped with an AIS device indicating position.
The Balmoral is carrying 1,309 passengers, including relatives of some Titanic passengers who died.
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Progress at the IALA intercessional: Linking Communication Needs to IMO User requirements for e-NAV March 15, 2012 In the past, we have called this ‘next generation AIS’ but now have all agreed that these communications are about much more than AIS and therefore calling this effort next generation AIS was misleading. We were given permission, by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to use six new channels (24, 84, 25, 85, 26 and 86), on an experimental basis, and channels 27 and 28 for additional AIS communications. IALA membership will need to develop a plan for using the new channels and for moving binary and other non-safety related communications off of AIS 1 and 2 and on to the new channels 27 and 28. We will need to have results to present at the next World Radio Conference (WRC) in 2015 with a final decision on allocation due from ITU at WRC 2018. We went through all of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) e-NAV user requirements and cross referenced them to e-NAV communication solutions, thus taking the first step into defining how e-NAV will answer and solve user requirements identified by IMO.
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| AIS Will be a Hot Topic at Upcoming IALA/e-Nav Meeting Pro by Peggy Browning February 29, 2012 The Communications group began defining the spectrum requirements in 2009 to prepare for the ITU World Radio Conference held last month. The conference was very successful and the AIS system now has two channels allocated for satellite communication and an open agenda item to explore additional spectrum required for AIS. This meeting will begin to explore the technical solutions necessary to support the communications required for e-NAV. The next generation of AIS offers a single box solution for e-NAV communications that will allow AIS to be capable of much more just AIS communications. Many of the requirements have long been defined and understood but how much AIS will participate in the future of GMDSS is still under debate, and although it will be the IMO who ultimately decides the future of GMDSS, the e-NAV communications box must have the capability to support GMDSS. Small vessel tracking is a source of growing concern for very large populations. The discussions for possible solutions and how alternate protocols might be integrated into the e-NAV communications box should be very interesting. For more information on the IALA e-NAV committee, click here. |
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| A Return Link for Satellite AIS by Peggy Browning February 1, 2012 The goal of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is to provide the communication support needed to implement search and rescue plans. The GMDSS is based upon a combination of satellite and terrestrial radio services, changing international distress communications from being primarily ship-to-ship based to ship-to-shore (Rescue Coordination Center) based. The GMDSS provides automatic distress alerting and locating in cases where a radio operator doesn't have time to send an SOS or MAYDAY call and requires ships to receive broadcasts of maritime safety information which could prevent a distress from happening in the first place. Introducing a return link for Satellite-AIS would allow the satellite to communicate with the ship and also acknowledge a distress signal. As Satellite AIS constellations are low earth orbiting and not geostationary, there will always be a question of revisit but I believe that AIS, particularly Satellite AIS, will play a major role in the modernization of GMDSS. AIS is on every ship and once AIS is recognized as part of the GMDSS system, essentially every vessel will be a Search and Rescue vessel. Satellite AIS could then be used to increase the reporting rate on the new channels when a ship is in distress and, in the event that there are no other ships around, the satellite will be sure to receive the distress signal.
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| Satellite AIS Applications for Zone Breaches by Peggy Browning January 17, 2012 Allowing ship owners to monitor any given ship’s behaviour and if there were trends in the violations, would ensure that appropriate action could then be taken. Certainly this type of data would enrich training programs and it might also lead to changes in the definition of the cautionary area itself. As the vessel trends may be seasonal, this would again lead to refinements in training and to the cautionary area.
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| What does 2012 hold for Satellite AIS? by Peggy Browning January 4, 2012 1) Satellite AIS, and the exactEarth algorithms, will crack the garbled slot problem for terrestrial base stations. The technical limitations that have previously hindered detection of AIS-equipped ships in high-traffic areas are:
2) Satellite AIS will become a pillar of the future GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety System). The system was designed to increase safety and make it easier to rescue distressed ships, boats and aircraft. By utilizing Satellite AIS, authorities will have a much clearer and global picture for maritime activity. The biggest bonus of including AIS into GMDSS is that every ship becomes a search-and-rescue craft as no special equipment will be required to receive distress messages and locations. 3) The new satellite channels, allocated specifically for satellite detection of AIS, will begin to be used and monitored. Also, Class B vessels will be required to report on these channels. There is currently a decision pending on proposed frequencies (AIS channels 75 and 76) to initially exclusively broadcast Long Range AIS position reports. The current requirement is for only Class A vessels to report on these channels. However, including all AIS traffic will eventually be required to support GMDSS and other tracking requirements for security and environmental protection. The new satellite AIS channels will becomes known as the AIS Tracking Channels. 4) Satellite AIS and radar fusion will be key to solving small vessel tracking. Combining Satellite AIS with radar fusion will allow for greater visibility into tracking small vessels across the globe. Satellite AIS provides the advantage of validating vessels picked up by radar and confirming what type of vessel it is, or that there is a radar target that is not identifying itself as required.
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Vessel Collision off Bay of Biscay December 15, 2011 When we investigated, exactAIS® had picked up the track for the one of the vessels without any problem, however, the other vessel was strangely lacking in data. In fact, the last time we had picked it up was on November 30th and then again on December 9th, after the incident had already taken place. Is it possible the AIS transmitter was turned off and then turned back on after the collision? I believe the condition of the AIS unit should be checked, in particular the output power. It is also of note that a Tanker is required to go to 1W while in port, it could be that this unit was put in low power operation and never reset back to high power. Sometimes the lack of data can be just as interesting and puzzling as having a wealth of data.
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| New Satellite AIS Channels by Peggy Browning December 14, 2011 Here at exactEarth, we will be well positioned to support these new channels as our satellites are tunable across the maritime band and will be well equipped to monitor these new channels. In addition, our superior detection capability on the existing AIS channels can be used to cross check and validate compliance on the new channels. UPDATE: As of February 14, ITU has approved the new satellite channels announcing Class A will be on them and a decision pending on Class B reception as well.
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| Satellite AIS in the Arctic by Peggy Browning December 8, 2011 The exactEarth service is capable of capturing binary messages from weather buoys, containing data monitoring the weather, sea state, ice state, wave direction, salinity and other relevant environmental parameters. Over time, this data can, and will, be used to create weather modeling and trending analysis studies that can be used to protect sensitive environmental areas. In future, ships will transmit binary messages providing weather and ice conditions over the course of their voyage. Ships would need to be equipped with meteorological/hydrological sensors that are capable of measuring weather and ice data. The data could then be packaged into AIS messages for broadcast, helping other ships about to enter the area they just transited. Satellite AIS could receive these messages and provide this information to competent maritime authorities who could use the data to extend the range of weather prediction and modeling. Having accurate, real-time weather and ice information easily available will be critical as drifting ice will continue to be an issue in the Northwest Passage for years to come.
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| The Role of AIS in Environmental Protection by Peggy Browning November 29, 2011
Although AIS has limitations in this field (i.e. not being able to force a whale population to migrate in a certain pattern), it does allow for traffic analysis to define areas of protection. Once those areas are defined, AIS can establish automatic alerts of vessels entering those zones, allowing for even more in depth reporting. Seasonal notices are put in place to ensure that vessels avoid certain sensitive and protected areas. Now with AIS, the effectiveness of those notices can now be measured. AIS helps international organisations protect the environment and manage sustainable development activities through the use of AIS data to geo-fence environmentally sensitive or marine protected areas (MPAs) and record historical vessel tracks for reporting and investigative purposes. Analysts can research marine life movement patterns compared to ship traffic patterns to define protected areas that will ensure the least disturbance to the maritime community.
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| exactAIS® and Ballast Water Exchange by Peggy Browning November 23, 2011 This is where Satellite AIS can play an important role in determining whether a ship made the required deviation in course to exchange ballast water in the proper zone. Without satellite AIS, authorities must rely on aircraft routine patrols etc. for periodic checks, while satellite AIS provides a track with time, position, heading and speed. Providing the vessel’s track and not just its current position on the map allows for the level of analysis required in this investigation. exactAIS® offers a new capability to monitor and catch vessels that illegally report false locations for ballast water exchange. exactAIS® tracking provides historic data so authorities can view a vessel’s track over a set length of time. The exactAIS® track can then be overlaid on a vessel’s recorded track to verify its position and movements. Plotting each point with a date and timestamp, exactAIS® tracking guarantees accuracy to pinpoint vessels at the time of any discrepancy.
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| New AIS Testing Requirements by Peggy Browning November 18, 2011 Unfortunately the AIS system still must depend on certain parameters to be entered by the mariner. These parameters, called AIS static data, are unique to the ship i.e. IMO number, Call Sign, MMSI, etc., but are so very important because they are the keys to identifying a ship. With the new annual inspection, any discrepancies will be easily corrected. The voyage related data will still rely on the mariner to update accurately to reflect the current voyage. However, a simple check to verify that the data was entered will also allow an opportunity to ensure that the mariners on the ship are aware of how to update the unit to reflect voyage related data. The antenna installation and placement are extremely important for the reception of AIS signals by other ships, shore authorities, and satellites. With the annual inspection, there will now be an opportunity to look for and repair corrosion or other "wear and tear" factors that affect the antenna at sea. This situation is especially difficult to identify because any given AIS system may have a degraded signal caused by incorrect antenna installation but the master would have no way of knowing as a faulty system will still function, just not as optimally as required.
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| Combatting Piracy with AIS by Peggy Browning November 9, 2011 This announcement made me start to wonder about what role AIS can play in combatting piracy. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) recommends that the AIS remain active during a piracy event but also states that the master can disable the AIS at their discretion if the voyage is under threat, or in other words, before a piracy event takes place. EUNAVFOR and NATO have since amended this advice. They now recommend that AIS should be left on throughout the piracy High Risk Area as a safety precaution as this will allow the counter piracy naval forces in the area to track the positions of vessels in real time. AIS transmissions should be restricted to ship’s identity, position, course, speed, navigational status and safety-related information only. I wonder if adding a component to the position report in an AIS message, like Message 1, that was modified to indicate if “armed forces” are aboard, would deter pirates from attempting the attack in the first place. Considering the best outcome is to avoid piracy altogether, it would make sense to add more deterrents. Reports have indicated that pirates are now able to monitor vessel position reports but now they would also be cautioned that the vessel had armed guards aboard, possibly causing them to re-evaluate their attack.
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| Satellite AIS and LRIT by Peggy Browning November 2, 2011 AIS was developed for collision avoidance and LRIT was designed for the purpose of long range tracking. With LRIT the ship is required to broadcast a position report every six hours for a total of 4 reports every 24. Satellite AIS on the other hand will only report what is present, and detectable, in the satellite footprint. S-AIS does provide many position reports with every satellite pass, but it cannot guarantee that the ship will be detected with every pass. What I find particularly useful for S-AIS are the various data applications well outside simple tracking of ships. By having multiple position reports for a given ship, and the possibility that the ship will be detected many times during a day, it is now possible to develop behavioral models for ships and ship traffic. This essentially extends maritime domain awareness well outside terrestrial AIS reception, allowing for applications ranging from protection of environmentally sensitive areas to understanding and alarming on abnormal behavior of a ship. S-AIS does not guarantee a report from a ship at a definite interval and so therefore cannot replace LRIT. However the two technologies are complimentary, for example S-AIS can be used to identify non-complying ships under LRIT reporting obligations. In general, data quantity and quality provided by S-AIS is enabling dozens of use cases and applications all based on ship behavioral modeling that will benefit the maritime community for years to come.
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| GEOINT from the Inside by Peggy Browning October 26, 2011 I was very excited to learn that the assumption we have made about our data service held up. We had obviously always known about the incredible data integration possibilities of exactAIS® but now we know there is a need to use open source, internationally accepted formats for our data stream to ensure that we are able to integrate into any platform. I was absolutely amazed at the variety of applications that have integrated our satellite AIS data, from Esri to Google Earth, the possibilities were endless. I was also very interested in the approach of the application guys ... more and more of them are moving away from canned applications and toward building tool sets that other developers can use to build the application they need. Once again, thank goodness our data is completely platform friendly... using our data is a no-brainer for these guys! I met a lot of great people, doing great things to keep all of us safe in a scary world. It was truly eye-opening. On a personal note, our booth was right by one of the luncheon halls ... I stayed hungry the entire time :) We may need to move booth locations next time.
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