The AIS Vessel Monitoring System (AVMS) provides a significant breakthrough in long range AIS surveillance, and should be of particular interest to authorities concerned with Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and transportation security. It is proven technology currently deployed by the Canadian Navy and under trial with several others.

General Description

AVMS is a low-cost innovation for the long range tracking of vessels fitted with AIS transponders.

 This technology provides operational authorities with a global view of collected and fused AIS data in a near real-time environment.   AVMS extends your AIS horizon WORLD WIDE, and enables you to identify and classify radar  and other contacts by exclusion.

 AVMS has two components: the remote data collection unit and the central tracking station. The AVMS remote data collection unit is a self-contained system that when deployed collects and transmits AIS data, allowing a headquarters ashore to build or enhance its Recognized Maritime Picture (RMP). The AVMS remote units can be permanently installed on shore infrastructure, buoys, vessels and aircraft, or deployed in minutes in self-contained temporary installations on platforms, vessels or aircraft of opportunity. 

 Each AVMS remote unit has built-in processing that collects stores and transmits AIS data at selectable intervals. Only new data is transmitted in short data bursts using very little power or bandwidth. Sample rates and transmission frequencies are remotely configurable by the AVMS tracking station, allowing the system to be configured to meet operational requirements. The system also has a built-in Iridium satellite link, or can use any other communications path such as the vessel or aircraft’s existing communications. On the ships or aircraft themselves, the local AIS picture is fed to the navigation display and converted to OTH Gold for the onboard GCCS to support surveillance and Maritime Interdiction Operations.

The ability to control each unit remotely not only means that the carrying unit has no overhead in participating in the surveillance grid, but it enables the reporting interval to be made real-time for vessels of interest or SAR situations. It is also possible to do “reverse” AVMS where data packets are sent to the ship from the central Tracking Station via satellite, so regardless of how the AIS data was acquired it would be available to the ship.

The AVMS Tracking Station is a PC based server system that is configured to receive the collected AIS data from multiple AVMS remote units, and display the information for an unlimited number of ships on a GIS mapping system (in the stand-alone configuration). Essentially the Tracking Station networks all of the remote units in a remote sensor grid, with the burst transmission reporting frequencies for each unit controlled by the Maritime Headquarters (MHQ). Alternately, the AVMS tracking station is capable of forwarding the fused AIS information in OTH Gold format to populate any Recognized Maritime Picture using GCCS standards. The server also has a secure web interface that allows specific users to remotely monitor the AIS data, as well as configure the AVMS remote units based upon geographical co-ordinates if desired. This allows operators to create exclusion zones or special reporting areas. If any remote unit enters that area its programming will be automatically changed to the pre-set parameters for that zone.

 While the most obvious platforms for the AVMS would be Navy and Coast Guard ships, aircraft and shore installations, there are other applications that are significantly extending the offshore AVMS surveillance grid:

·          Oil Platforms – One of the world’s largest oilrigs at Hibernia, Newfoundland hosts an AVMS remote unit that provides AIS data out to the edge of the EEZ.

·          Buoys - The USCG project to deploy AIS receivers in NOAA buoys has stringent low power requirements. AVMS not only exceeds the requirements for power, size and robustness; it is ready for deployment and extremely cost effective. Environment Canada’s LaHave Bank buoy hosts an AVMS unit covering a major great circle route.

·          Vessels of Opportunity - The rugged, weather-proof self-contained model has been successfully deployed in small fishing boats and large vessels (during the MARSIE exercise it was submerged several times and faced severe conditions. The overall dimensions of the unit in its packaged state are 14 inches by 12 inches by 8 inches. The AVMS can be set up in a matter of a few minutes, after the antenna has been installed. It has onboard satellite/GPS and power back-up providing significant coverage at low cost. In addition, there are other applications that could further extend the AVMS surveillance grid:

·          UAV - The AVMS system has been engineered to be an affordable payload for UAV surveillance. In this model, the AVMS components weigh only a few pounds and allow ease of modular installation in a the UAV.

·          Military Transport planes - AVMS can be permanently installed on these aircraft and provide data wherever the aircraft are located.

·          Port Security – An AVMS sub grid can be established to provide AIS for port security. Other data such as radar contacts can be overlaid in the Tracking Station.

·          Ship/Helo AIS surveillance – For a ship without data link to its helicopter, a Tracking Station onboard and a Remote Unit in the helicopter would dramatically extended AIS coverage.

Operational Test and Evaluation

 After a successful evaluation in HMCS Goose Bay, AVMS was very successfully deployed in two surface units and existing shore infrastructure for the Maritime Sensor Integration Exercise (MARSIE) ‘05. This was a joint Canadian Navy/Defence Research and Development initiative, observed by the US Coast Guard. HMCS Athabaskan the NATO command ship is deployed with the first production model.

Conclusion

 AVMS is without doubt a tremendous breakthrough in using AIS for long-range surveillance, and the MARLANT HQ surveillance staff is very impressed by this new capability. With the sensor grid fusing an unlimited number of contacts for their command and control system, it provides a significant contribution to Maritime Domain Awareness. Additionally, the ability to control the transmission period of all remote units from the central tracking station provides near real-time tracking from any remote unit to support SAR or close surveillance of vessels of interest.