Project Mr. Radio
Advancing maritime surveillance via open-source AIS network engineering
Engineering terrestrial AIS stations to capture and broadcast real-time vessel data from the high-density shipping lanes of the Bay of Bengal.
Challenge
Global maritime transparency depends on accurate, real-time vessel tracking — yet vast coastal regions remain data black zones. The Bay of Bengal, one of the world's busiest shipping corridors, lacked sufficient terrestrial AIS coverage to support international search-and-rescue operations, logistics optimization, and maritime compliance.
Existing satellite AIS systems couldn't provide the granular, high-frequency updates needed for vessels near shore. A dedicated terrestrial network was required, built from the ground up in a challenging coastal environment with unreliable power and connectivity.
Approach
iobytes partnered with AISHub under the strategic initiative Project Mr. Radio to engineer, deploy, and maintain open-source terrestrial AIS stations across the Bangladesh coastline.
Current deployment — Chittagong Base Station:
- High-availability terrestrial AIS base station strategically positioned at Bangladesh's primary maritime hub
- Continuous VHF decoding: High-frequency radio gateway continuously decoding marine signals from incoming and anchored commercial vessels
- Global data ingestion: Raw spatial data piped directly and securely to the AISHub global repository
Technical Architecture
Hardware & RF Telemetry
Robust open-source AIS receiver configurations optimized for high-gain VHF reception to counter marine signal attenuation.
Resilient Data Pipelines
Automated telemetry scripts extracting, parsing, and transmitting NMEA data sentences — sub-second ingestion with zero packet loss.
Edge Reliability
Low-power edge hardware configured to handle local network drops and power fluctuations typical of coastal environments without data corruption.
Expansion Roadmap
Phase 2 — National Grid Expansion
- • Deployment of 5 to 10 additional terrestrial AIS stations along critical coastal nodes
- • Complete elimination of black zones in the Northern Bay of Bengal
- • High-fidelity coverage for the region's densest shipping corridors
Phase 3 — Global Enterprise Partnerships
- • Strategic partnerships with international maritime leaders and shipping conglomerates
- • Integration of terrestrial data feeds into global ship visibility pipelines
- • Establishing the definitive AIS network infrastructure for South Asian maritime intelligence
Results
- Sub-second data ingestion with zero packet loss from coastal AIS stations
- Continuous VHF signal decoding from high-density commercial shipping lanes
- Global data contribution to AISHub international vessel tracking
- Regional maritime safety boost through elimination of tracking black zones
Tech Stack
“Through Project Mr. Radio, iobytes bridges local RF engineering with global maritime intelligence. Their Chittagong station feeds real-time data into our global repository, directly improving search-and-rescue visibility and international vessel tracking accuracy.”— AISHub Partnership Team
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