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AIS Alarm

fmilburn

NOTE:  This is the initial post for this project. The project is now nearing completion and a chronological list of posts associated with it can be found at the bottom of the page.

 

Project Objective: Develop an open source AIS Alarm that alerts sailors that a new marine vessel with AIS is within range.

 

I have been experimenting with the Texas Instruments MSP430FR2xx microcontrollers and have selected it for a project I have been thinking about for a while.  The objective is to develop an open source AIS Alarm that alerts sailors that a new marine vessel with AIS is within range.  AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a tracking system for ships that gives information on among other things location, direction, and speed.  It is required on vessels of 300 or more gross tonnage and all passenger ships.  Below is a cartoon of what I have in mind:

image

The real magic is the open source AIS radio receiver dAISy.  I have used them for a couple of projects.  There are also dual channel and Raspberry Pi hat versions.

 

I intend to power the dAISy module with a USB power stick like the ones sold for cell phone recharging.  This will allow it to be disconnected from a laptop which is the way I normally power dAISy and thus reduce power / lengthen the life of the laptop battery.  dAISy has serial output and a 5V terminal.  This will be used to power a MSP430FR2111, a buzzer and a LED which will be placed in an enclosure with the dAISy receiver.  When a new vessel is detected the AIS signal will be entered into a ring buffer in FRAM and the alert issued from a buzzer and flashing LED.  The dAISy can then be unplugged from the power stick and plugged into the USB port of a computer running OpenCPN or other suitable navigation software.  There will be a button on the user interface that will squirt the AIS information (which is still there since we are using FRAM) over to the laptop so that the vessel can be located on the screen.

 

I prototyped this with a MSP430F5529 and am comfortable I can make everything work.

The dAISy receiver in this video is one I collaborated on with Adrian, the developer of dAISy, sometime back that has an Ethernet adapter.  I plan to put the finished project in an enclosure as well.

 

This is a medium range project as I seem to have a lot going on right now.  I am posting something now in the hope it will give me extra incentive to finish in a timely manner.

 

Update 17 June 2018:  Here is a photo of the first "production run" of the version 1.0 boards.

image

 

Other Posts from this Project:

AIS Alarm

AIS Alarm - The Process

AIS Alarm - Prototype Hardware

AIS Alarm - Timers and GPIO

AIS Alarm - Prototype Code Outline

AIS Alarm - UART

AIS Alarm - First AIS Messages

AIS Alarm - First FRAM Storage

AIS Alarm - Debouncing Momentary Button Switches

AIS Alarm - FRAM Ring Buffer

AIS Alarm - Schematic

AIS Alarm - PCB Version 0.1

AIS Alarm - PCB Version 0.1 Arrived

AIS Alarm - PCB Version 0.2

AIS Alarm - Everything Working

AIS Alarm - First Version 1.0 Hardware Assembled

AIS Alarm - Firmware Tested, Bug Squashed

 

References and Links:

WEGMATT LLC - dAISy AIS Receiver - low cost AIS receiver

Texas Instruments MSP430FR2xx FRAM Microcontrollers - Post No. 4

TI MSP430FR2111

Maximize the Sound from a Buzzer

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  • Sounds like a great concept.

    The big issue you'll have is getting it commercialised, since vessels of that size are not pleasureboats and will be subject to various regulations.

    Commercial ADS-B units for aircraft are similarily stuck in the regulations as well.

     

     

    I looked at AIS some time ago, but since we are too far from the coast, it's not much use.

    There is a version using an RTl-SDR

    https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-cheap-ais-ship-tracking/

     

    I think they really need to be Ethernet connected and standalone to become as popular as the ADS_B has become.

     

    Mark

  • in reply to mcb1

    Hi Mark,

     

    I am not interested in getting it commercialized - I am retired and that sounds like work image.  There are commercial versions of what I have described albeit at much higher cost and much more power hungry.  I am familiar with the USB stick SDRs.  They are cheaper than dAISy but lack the sensitivity and robust construction of dAISy.  Further, the dAISy firmware is very nice and since there are thousand of users now the bugs are pretty much gone.

     

    The potential user of this would be a DIY type who doesn't have the money for a commercial version and has a boat that does not meet the regulatory requirements for having AIS.  Or a hobbyist like me who just likes tinkering with this stuff.

     

    As an aside, the dAISy variant that can be seen in the video I attached is one that I designed and has Ethernet connection. 

Comment
  • in reply to mcb1

    Hi Mark,

     

    I am not interested in getting it commercialized - I am retired and that sounds like work image.  There are commercial versions of what I have described albeit at much higher cost and much more power hungry.  I am familiar with the USB stick SDRs.  They are cheaper than dAISy but lack the sensitivity and robust construction of dAISy.  Further, the dAISy firmware is very nice and since there are thousand of users now the bugs are pretty much gone.

     

    The potential user of this would be a DIY type who doesn't have the money for a commercial version and has a boat that does not meet the regulatory requirements for having AIS.  Or a hobbyist like me who just likes tinkering with this stuff.

     

    As an aside, the dAISy variant that can be seen in the video I attached is one that I designed and has Ethernet connection. 

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  • in reply to fmilburn

    The potential user of this would be a DIY type who doesn't have the money for a commercial version

    Ahh that makes perfect sense then, and yes I agree it would be particularily useful as a secondary system.

     

     

    I also like the idea that it sends an alert whenever something is within xx metres.

     

    In theory that should make it capable of being standalone, with a display to prove it's working.

     

     

     

    Mark