Author(s)

ELEFTHERIOS OUZOUNOGLOU ET AL.

Abstract

Despite the great attention that the field of maritime surveillance has gained nowadays, special effort is required to remove the barriers of collecting and integrating heterogeneous data into a common picture to be shared among all relevant parties and achieving a reasonable level of interoperability for improved
efficiency of maritime surveillance systems. Traditional solutions offered mainly rely on the usage of either custom data models or the automatic identification system (AIS) types of messages which, although widely accepted, has significant restrictions regarding the types of data that can transmit (e.g. support of additional information and metadata). Based on the more modern, XML-based, inter-VTS exchange format service (IVEF) introduced by the IALA, we present the design and implementation of a uniform communication gateway (UCG) and an advanced user interface (AUI) for maritime surveillance systems, implementing the IVEF service model and protocol. The UCG consists of a set of interconnected processes implementing data listeners for acquiring raw vessel traffic data, translators from AIS or custom data models (based on reusable libraries) to the IVEF data model, a merging process for integrating the data streams and a IVEF-compliant and SSL/TLS-secured server serving the data to any
IVEF-compatible client. For monitoring UCG data traffic, a web-based interface presenting statistics for the reception and sending rates is offered. Moreover, maritime environment data stemming from the EU Copernicus service are map illustrated. The AUI is a front-end system specifically designed to provide multiple categories of users (e.g. radar designers, operational users, result stream subscribers) with the functionalities required to operate and exploit the results of diverse sources of data reception
(including AIS traffic and proprietary radars). Its basic component is a map-centric GUI displaying nautical charts, radar cells, vessels tracks and alerts and providing end-users analysis tools. Both implementations have been tested and validated in real operational environment.

Keywords

IVEF, AIS, Maritime Surveillance, Vessel Tracking