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Automatic Identification System Operator's Manual
Appendix A - Automatic Identification System
(AIS)
Introduction
AIS
is a shipborne broadcast transponder system in which ships continually trans-
mit their ID, position, course, speed and other data to all other nearby ships and
shoreside authorities on a common VHF radio channel. The concept is derived
from the pioneering work of a Swedish inventor named Håkan Lans, who devel-
oped in the mid 1980s an ingenious technique for spontaneous, masterless com-
munication, which permits a large number of transmitters to send data bursts over
a single narrowband radio channel by synchronizing their data transmissions to a
very precise timing standard.
AIS is designed to operate in one of the following modes:
• In a ship-to-ship mode for collision avoidance
• In a ship-to-shore mode as a means for coastal states to monitor and
obtain information about a ship and its cargo
• As a traffic management tool when integrated with a Vessel Traffic
System (VTS)
Ship-to-Ship Data Exchange
The primary operating mode for AIS will be autonomous ship-to-ship reporting. In
this mode, each ship transmits its data to all other AIS-equipped ships within VHF
range. The unique communications scheme permits these data transmissions to
take place independently without the need for a master control station.
Summary of Contents for MX420
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