Saab TransponderTech has made the first delivery of its latest generation of automatic identification system (AIS) airborne transponders. The Saab R4A AIS has been purchasedby Aeroservicios Especializados S.A. de C.V. (ASESA), an offshore helicopter operator in Mexico.
It followed a requirement from Pemex, which has awarded a five-year contract to ASESA, for all helicopters in its service to be equipped with AIS transponders. As further helicopter contracts come up for renewal in the sector - the next is due later this year - other operators will need to follow suit, reports Holger Ericsson, Saab TransponderTech’s director, marketing and sales.
Installation of the Saab R4A AIS transponder on 17 of ASESA’s Bell 412 helicopters was completed in January. The units will enable the helicopters, which transport personnel and supplies to Pemex offshore oil and gas platforms in the Bay of Campeche, to be tracked from a number of base stations that Pemex has established. The technology serves both traffic management and safety purposes. Ground controllers can monitor any risk of collision between two helicopters in the same vicinity, and in the event of a helicopter crashing at sea, its precise position can be given to the search and rescue services.
Saab�s AIS airborne transponder is compact and easy to accommodate.
The AIS transponders broadcast each aircraft’s position, heading, speed, and performance data in real time and receive information from all ships and helicopters within range of the VHF radio. Information is transmitted using the SOTDMA - self-organizing time division multiple access - protocol, which uses precise timing data in GPS satellite signals to synchronize multiple data transmissions on a single narrow-band channel. Saab has been a pioneer in the development and deployment of AIS technology in the maritime and aviation sectors.
The transponder measures 280 x 144 x 87 mm and weighs a mere 2.8 kg. Certified for installation in most compartments in an aircraft, it is easily accommodated, even in small craft. Configuration and status check are easily carried out using Windows-based software.
Saab is now looking at developing accessories to go with the R4A AIS, such as display solutions and more antenna alternatives, Ericsson says. As the pilot is not allowed to use AIS data for navigation, a separate operator is required to make use of the AIS data. In the case of the ASESA delivery, the data is only presented at the ground stations - there is no AIS operator in the helicopters.
Real-time monitoring
For an offshore operator, the technology provides a relatively easy and inexpensive way to monitor in real time vessel and air movements in the area of its offshore installations, Ericsson says. Most vessels in offshore service, such as supply boats, which operate in international waters, are required to have AIS capability under IMO regulations.
Such monitoring may become a requirement in the future. The Mexican government, for example, now requires all traffic in offshore service in its waters to be equipped with AIS identification capability.
Saab has supplied base station systems for VTMS purposes to a Mærsk platform in the Qatari sector and a Kuwaiti offshore operator. It has recently received an order to supply systems for several platforms in the Dutch sector.
VTMS application
The AIS technology is at the heart of the Saab Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS). This is available at three levels - Harbor Watch, Port Watch, and Coast Watch, which are also applicable in an offshore context.
The Harbor Watch system provides VTMS for a single harbor or offshore platform. Data is collected by VHF, radar, AIS, and possibly closed-circuit television (CCTV). Presentation of all the data occurs at a single workstation - the radar and AIS images are fused - so that a single operator is presented with a comprehensive picture of what is going on in the surrounding waters. Subsea installations and underwater vessels could also be included in the system, Ericsson says.
At the next level up is Port Watch, which in an offshore context could be applied to a field with multiple platforms. The same array of sensors is involved, perhaps with weather data included. The information is presented in fused pictures and can be presented in different layers or divided between different operators, each with their own workstation. The data can be stored in an event log, which would provide a full account of traffic movements if, for example, an incident needed to be reviewed. The data can also be sent via the Web to other interested parties.
At the next level up, several Port Watch systems are integrated into a Coast Watch, a fully fledged coastal surveillance system operating on a national level, with links to authorities such as police, coastguard, fishery surveillance, and military. The security capability, which provides protection against possible terrorist action, is also applicable at the lower levels and in an offshore context. Saab has developed a secure R4S transponder for use by the military and other security organizations. It allows the user to receive AIS information without revealing its own identity.
Saab’s AIS technology is used as part of a national VTMS in Finland, which is one of the most sophisticated in the world, according to Ericsson. The Finnish authorities have stipulated that all agencies involved in surveillance should work together, using shared sensors. The market potential for such technology is substantial - many countries, including the US, are interested in implementing comprehensive surveillance systems.
For more information, contract Holger Ericsson, Saab TransponderTech. Tel +46 8627 4943, fax +46 8627 4949, [email protected], www.transpondertech.se.
