In March 2011, AIS Live Japan, a provider of automatic identification systems (AIS) to coastal vessels, cooperated with Marine Japan to develop a monitoring system using network cameras to provide more detailed information of vessel conditions and routes. More than 5,400 coastal vessels navigate Japan’s coast day and night. The AIS is an image transmission service that constantly gathers information, such as a ship’s current location, course and speed via a mobile network linking the coast and the ship.
In March 2011, AIS Live Japan, a provider of automatic identification systems (AIS) to coastal vessels, cooperated with Marine Japan to develop a monitoring system using network cameras to provide more detailed information of vessel conditions and routes. More than 5,400 coastal vessels navigate Japan's coast day and night. The AIS is an image transmission service that constantly gathers information, such as a ship's current location, course and speed via a mobile network linking the coast and the ship.
Ships have a total length of dozens of meters, so high-level zoom performance is required of a camera which must accurately check conditions of the area of operation, conditions of loading/unloading and other work situations, and conditions during each departure and arrival. Unlike roads and streets, shipping does not involve frequent and large movements; five or six fps are considered sufficient information.
Axis Communications PTZ domes with 29x optical zoom were set up on the compass deck and in the pilothouse to transmit images showing the course and the deck from above. The camera can show objects that are 150 meters (495 feet) or further. The camera lenses were seriously affected by ship vibrations during initial installments, said Keisuke Makita, Representative of AShip Corporation, a vessels management company. AIS Live and AShip developed a stabilizer to prevent vibrations from affecting camera performance.
Images are transmitted via the Internet from coastal vessels to access points on shore. The images are then sent to the operation company's management center via this network. The center can view images by clicking on the ship's position, which is displayed on a map via the AIS. Prior to installing the image-monitoring system, AShip relied on communication with crew members to learn about on-site conditions and events; the images have filled the gap of understanding between crew members and staff, and allowed for better responses, Makita said.