RadarAIS

RadarAIS is a maritime surveillance capability that integrates radar and Automatic Identification System data to improve detection, tracking, and identification of vessels. By fusing primary radar returns with AIS messages, the system provides a unified picture of vessel traffic, compensating for AIS omissions, spoofing, or small-vessel detection.

Typical components include radar sensors, AIS transceivers, data processing units, and display workstations. The processing stage performs data association between radar tracks and AIS tracks, maintains vessel tracks, estimates kinematic parameters, detects conflicts, and presents a composite target profile. The system often supports integration with electronic chart displays and information systems to enhance situational awareness for operators.

Applications include Vessel Traffic Service centers, coast guards, port authorities, and maritime security operators. RadarAIS supports collision avoidance, search-and-rescue planning, security operations, and enforcement activities, enabling faster decision-making in busy or high-risk waterways.

Benefits of RadarAIS include improved target identification, reduced false alarms, continuity when AIS is unreliable, and the ability to detect non-cooperative or spoofing scenarios. It can also help bridge data gaps in limited visibility or congested environments, providing a more robust traffic picture.

Limitations involve radar clutter, weather effects, range and angular resolution constraints, time synchronization issues, and potential misassociation between radar and AIS data. Robust fusion requires careful calibration, data quality controls, and cybersecurity measures to protect against manipulation of sensor feeds.

RadarAIS is typically deployed as part of broader maritime domain awareness systems and can interoperate with standard maritime data feeds and control centers for enhanced safety and security at sea.