AIS

The STANAG On Demand Server supports Automatic Identification System (AIS) integration in both Live and Video-on-Demand (VOD) modes. AIS data significantly enhances Full Motion Video (FMV) exploitation by providing situational awareness of maritime vessels in the vicinity of the video capture area. When used together with STANAG 4609 video and KLV metadata, AIS enables synchronized visualization of vessel positions with FMV feeds, enhancing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

Note, AIS is an optional feature that requires NMEA AIS source integration and only works out of the box with specific platforms.

What is AIS?

AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a maritime communication system used for broadcasting vessel information, including position, heading, speed, vessel name, type, and other relevant data. It enables ships and coastal authorities to track vessel movements in real time.

Why is AIS important for FMV exploitation?

  • Enhanced Contextual Awareness: AIS helps analysts understand the maritime environment surrounding the video.
  • Target Correlation: Vessels seen in video can be positively identified using AIS metadata (MMSI, Name, Type, Flag).
  • Operational Tracking: Track vessel movement across time, supporting both live operations and post-event analysis.

AIS Support in StanagOnDemand

AIS

StanagOnDemand displays AIS data in two synchronized views:

1. Map View

Ships are visualized on a geographic map, allowing real-time tracking and spatial context.
🗺️ Clicking on a ship marker shows detailed information:

  • MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity)
  • Name Ship name
  • Type (e.g., Passenger, Tanker, etc)
  • Country Flag
  • COG Course Over Ground
  • HDG Heading
  • SOG Speed Over Ground

The selected ship will also display its historical trail on the map.

2. Table View

AIS targets are also shown in a sortable and searchable table below the map. This table provides detailed, timestamped vessel information for live or recorded sessions.

Table Columns:

Column Description
Sensor Source system or sensor reporting the AIS data
MMSI Unique vessel identifier, clickable to open external site (marinetraffic.com)
Name Vessel name
Type Type of vessel (e.g., Tug, Tanker, Anti-pollution Vessel)
Flag National flag of the vessel
Timestamp Time of the AIS report
Lat / Lon Latitude and Longitude of the vessel
COG (Course Over Ground) Direction of movement in degrees
HDG (Heading) Direction vessel is facing
SOG (Speed Over Ground) Current vessel speed in knots

📌 Note: Clicking an MMSI in the table will select that specific vessel on the map.

Data Filtering:

Contol Description
Mode Last - latest AIS report / All - all reported entries
Type Vessel / Base station
Time Filter by time
Retention Defines how long AIS data is kept for historical view or replay
Trail Configures how many past positions to display per vessel, helping visualize movement history
Mission Filter by mission start/end times

Note: If the Time filter has a start or end value set, the button color changes to orange. When both values are cleared, it changes to gray.

When the Mission filter is selected, the mission's start and end time values are automatically applied to the Time filter. If you manually edit either value, the Mission filter is deselected.

Operational Modes

  • Live Mode: Displays current AIS targets received in real-time.
  • VOD Mode: Replays vessel positions over time, synchronized with video playback for forensic review.

Configuration

Enable AIS Functionality

To activate AIS support in the software, set the following environment variables in your .env file:

HOST_AISDATA_DIR=${HOME}/aisdata   # map host ais source directory
USE_AIS=true                       # enable ais processing

These settings ensure that the software initializes and processes AIS-related inputs during runtime.

Configure AIS Sources

AIS sources are treated as data-type sensors within the platform configuration.
Each AIS source must be defined as a sensor of type ais within a specific platform entry.

Example Configuration
Below is a sample configuration snippet where two AIS feeds (RPAS and RPAS2) are added to a platform named Legion:

platforms:
  - name: Legion 
    active: true    
    description: First platform
    type: Quadcopter
    sensors:
      - name: EO
        description: EO/IR sensor
        active: true
        type: video
        url: 'udp://227.1.1.1:30120?localaddr=127.0.0.1'
        live:
          videoPassthrough: true

      - name: Tail1
        description: Tail camera
        active: false
        type: video
        url: 'udp://227.1.1.2:30122?localaddr=127.0.0.1'

      - name: Operator1
        active: false
        type: video
        url: 'udp://227.1.1.3:30123'

      - name: RPAS   
        description: AIS feed 
        active: true         
        type: ais        
        url: file://./aisdata/ais_data.nm4

      - name: RPAS2   
        description: AIS feed  
        active: true         
        type: ais
        url: file://./aisdata/LGCS_2025-01-10.nm4

In this configuration:

RPAS and RPAS2 are AIS data sources.
Each AIS source uses a file:// URL scheme pointing to a .nm4 file containing recorded NMEA messages.
The active field must be set to true for the AIS feed to be processed.

Summary

AIS integration in StanagOnDemand provides a powerful tool for maritime FMV analysis, merging visual and positional data to improve situational awareness and decision-making. The combined use of AIS, STANAG 4609, and KLV metadata gives analysts a complete picture of the operational environment.