A reader of our blog, EBC81, has written in to let us know about a new RTL-SDR based AIS decoder that he has written for the Android OS. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System and is used by ships to broadcast their GPS locations, to help avoid collisions and aid with rescues. An RTL-SDR with the right software can be used to receive and decode these signals, and plot ship positions on a map.
EBC81’s program is called rtl_ais_android and can be downloaded from this GitHub link. It decodes the AIS data into NMEA messages, which can then be sent via UDP to mapping programs in Android or a program like OpenCPN on your PC. To use the app you will need a USB OTG cable to connect your Android device to the RTL-SDR.
In the future EBC81 hopes to create a second app which will display the ship positions on a map.
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