Community and software for maritime vessel tracking - a high-performance, open-source AIS ecosystem for creating your own monitoring station
AIS-catcher is a community of AIS enthusiasts dedicated to maritime tracking. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) allows ships to broadcast their position and course, thereby enhancing navigation safety. AIS-catcher provides software that transforms affordable SDR receivers like the RTL-SDR into high-performance maritime tracking stations, enabling you to capture, analyze, and visualize vessel movements locally while giving you full control over your data with the option to share it with our community.
If you already operate an AIS station, please joins us to help build the global network. Otherwise, our high-performance open-source software lets you easily set up your own AIS receiver using an affordable off-the-shelf Software Defined Radio, an antenna, and a computer. With AIS-catcher, you can monitor ship traffic, track specific vessels, and contribute to a worldwide maritime observation network. The software works with a wide range of hardware and provides excellent sensitivity for capturing signals from greater distances.
Captures AIS signals from extended distances, enhancing maritime monitoring capabilities.
Written in C++ with optimization options for low-spec Single Board Computers.
Free and open source software with full source code available under the GPL3 license.
Runs on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux with support for RTL-SDR dongles, AirSpy, HackRF, and more.
View NMEA messages directly or forward via UDP/HTTP/TCP or submit to a PostgreSQL database.
Embedded web viewer that shows station performance and real-time vessel positions.
Our easy-to-use Web GUI provides:
Available for Docker and Raspberry Pi deployments
AIS-catcher is a free and open-source project dedicated to transforming computers equipped with Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) into robust Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers. Our mission is to enhance AIS data decoding, provide a versatile tool that supports various input and output methods, and aggregate AIS data at aiscatcher.org.
-X YOUR_SHARING_KEY option to share
your station's raw AIS data with the community hub.Not running AIS-catcher? You can still share by sending NMEA data over UDP. Register here to receive a dedicated port for data forwarding.
Displays vessels and objects reported by the AIS-catcher community using grey icons. Helps identify potential blind spots and assess the reception area of your station.
Improved situational awareness by visualizing community-reported AIS data.
Provides an overlay of AIS tropo ducting conditions, refreshed every six hours. Explains AIS observations that typically occur beyond the line-of-sight, extending into hundreds of miles.
Enhances the interpretation of long-range AIS signals.
Explore these projects for inspiration on what can be done with AIS data and AIS-catcher output:
These AIS data aggregation sites share data with aiscatcher.org:
Join the AIS-catcher community today and start tracking vessels with your own receiver.