good news!23 May 2014 17:17
c/o Cliff advfn
Press release from SRT this afternoon suggests ABSEA is now in place and functioning - great news IMO:
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REVOLUTIONARY NEW TECHNOLOGY ENABLES RELIABLE SATELLITE TRACKING OF CLASS B AND IDENTIFIER AIS TRANSCEIVERS
ABSEA™ technology is the result of a collaborative development program between SRT Marine Technology in the UK and exactEarth in Canada. For the first time Class B and Identifier type transceivers with ABSEA™ upgraded firmware can be tracked from space by the exactEarth satellite network.
As a VHF based technology, the tracking range of any AIS transceiver is line of sight between the transmitting and receiving antenna. This typically means that terrestrial ship to shore tracking range is up to 50 nautical miles. Satellite constellations with AIS receivers have been built to provide coverage beyond this range, but due to a host of technical issues inherent in the ITU defined AIS protocol, and low power VHF radio in general, can only reliably receive transmissions from Class A type AIS transceivers.
However, with the invention of ABSEA™ technology this now changes. Transmissions from Class B and Identifier type AIS transceivers with ABSEA™ technology can now be reliably received and fully decoded by the exactEarth AIS satellite network. This innovation opens the possibility of continuous tracking of vessels using Class B and Identifier type transceivers outside of terrestrial network range.
Simon Tucker, SRT CEO said: “AIS is a fantastic technology for which our customers are constantly finding new and innovative applications. Since launching the world’s first Class B in 2006, SRT’s role has been to provide our customers and the market with a full portfolio of high performance, customisable AIS technology and product platform solutions around which they can create their own unique market offer. Our exclusive partnership with exactEarth has enabled our R&D team to develop a truly amazing technology which extends the capability and utility of AIS thus opening yet new opportunities for our customers. This is another example of SRT supporting the market and its customers through leading edge technology development, something that has been a feature of SRT for the last 20 years and will continue to be so into the future.”
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