System and method for collection of global AIS and radar track information
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorClarence John Funk
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses are described that enable the automatic collection of maritime vessel location information within a global or regional framework by using a minimum network of vessels outfitted with non-intrusive AIS data collection systems. The network of vessels may comprise standard ships operating within their normal commercial or private tasks. By utilizing these non-specially tasked vessels and augmenting the received AIS reports with onboard radar/navigation information, accurate global or regional tracking information can be generated at a centralized location without incurring large costs.
Claims14
A method for tracking a network of ships, comprising:
- forming a network of a plurality of data collection ships (DCS);
- receiving, from the plurality of the DCSes, Automatic Information System (AIS) reports provided by nearby ships' own-ship position information;
- receiving radar intercepts of the nearby ships by the plurality of the DCSes;
- filtering the received AIS reports, own-ship position information, and radar intercepts to generate smoothed ship track reports;
- sampling of the smoothed ship track reports to create sampled track reports having a reduced data size;
- generating sample track messages from the sampled track reports;
- forwarding the sampled track messages to a central data processing facility (CDPF);
- and
- correlating the forwarded messages to provide global tracking information on the DCSes and the nearby ships.
A system to track a network of ships, comprising:
- means for forming a network of a plurality of data collection ships (DCS);
- means for receiving, by the plurality of the DCSes, Automatic Information System (AIS) reports provided by nearby ships' own-ship position information;
- means for receiving radar intercepts and corresponding GPS data from the nearby ships by the plurality of the DCSes;
- means for filtering the received AIS reports, own-ship position information, and radar intercepts to generate smoothed ship track reports;
- means for sampling of the smoothed ship track reports to create sampled track reports having a reduced data size;
- means for generating sample track messages from the sampled track reports;
- means for forwarding the sampled track messages to a central data processing facility (CDPF);
- and
- means for correlating the forwarded messages to provide global tracking information on the DCSes and the nearby ships.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.