AIS Request for Multiple Icons (New Features)

[fulup]

While I love AIS on OpenCPN, I'm dreaming of some extensions.

1. Having a way to ignore your own MMSI. Depending on your config, you may get an echo for your own boat, it would be nice to be in a position to ignore it.
2. Have a list for Friend MMSI. This would allow you when cruising with friends to track them easily with a special color/icon and even to log there route if wanted.
3. Have a way to get a special color/icon depending on the class of the boat and/or speed). More and more buoy send an AIS signal, and today they are display as a boat. It would be nice to have an easy way to differentiate: a buoy, a tanker on anchor, a tanker speeding at 20knt, a sailing boat at 6knt, ...
4. This is more a question, as I do not have the system. if OpenCPN receive an AIS distriss signal, as the one send by the new AIS/manOverBoard how are they display ?

[sinbad7]

Fulup...

Here is a filter system used by Siitech's AIS-VTS Lite where different colors can be allocated to ship types etc.

Blue-Cruise liners/passenger ships
Green-Cargo ships
Red-Tankers
Black-Law enforcement vessels
Orange-HS craft/fast ferries
Yellow-Pleasure craft
White-Unknown type

etc. etc..

I had the same situation once,where MY AIS receiving station in Brazil was following a sailboat of a friend of mine in Sweden as if it was a vessel.

Perhaps someone could create an AIS plugin for this kind of thing?

Tore

[fulup]

Yes this looks great.

[PjotrC]

Originally Posted by fulup

Have a way to get a special color/icon depending on the class of the boat and/or speed). More and more buoy send an AIS signal, and today they are display as a boat. It would be nice to have an easy way to differentiate: a buoy, a tanker on anchor, a tanker speeding at 20knt, a sailing boat at 6knt, ...

There is certainly room for improvement, but one should be careful not to overload the picture with information...

Well-behaved buoys are seen as Aids-to-Navigation, not boats.

Some non-boat objects indeed transmit boat-specific messages, but there is nothing we can do about this.

The speed can be seen from the predictor vector.

Too many colors are difficult to distinguish at night. Moreover, it seems to be an established practice in ship-borne plotters to use the color for indicating dangerous/unknown/etc. targets. Red (in bold outline) is prescribed by IMO for dangerous targets...

One could indeed think of distinguishing some target type/nav status configurations with a shape, but there are so many of these, that it is not feasible to show all the variants. The ones I think deserve visible differentiation are:

- HSCs - even when moored in a harbour, an HSC can start moving and be close in matter of minutes...
- fishing vessels (and many other kinds of work ships) - those behave less predictably than route-following cargo ships, so their best CPAs are still doubtful
- Class B - as generally smaller and more manoeverable, with less reliable reports
- large vs. not-so-large Class A vessels - the NavRules threshold is 50m LOA, but I would go for 100m LOA

It is true that matching the physical appearance of vessels to the AIS display can prevent mistakes in assessment of the situation ("Let's go for crossing the lane right behind _this_ tanker..."). But then at night all ships look the same (again - with exception of fishing and work boats, and passenger vessels, which are usually large).

So maybe:

- Class B should be shown at half-size
- fishing and work boats should get the V-transom shape, regardless of size and class
- Class A over 100m LOA should get another common shape
- Invent something for HSC

The next step is of course scaling the icon to the proper size as per zoom level...

The detailed specs for type/nav status -> rollover, optionally always visible...



Piotr

[fulup]

PiotrC,

I do not disagree with you on the importance to keep clear messages.

I like your class approach:

• Class B should be shown at half-size
• Fishing and work boats should get the V-transom shape, regardless of size and class
• Class A over 100m LOA should get another common shape
• Invent something for HSC

Nevertheless I would love to get a way to enter special MMSI

• My own MMSI to remove the echo from my own boat
• My Friends MMSI to activate a log on their route.