Analysis of the radar coverage provided by a maritime radar network of co-operative vessels based on AIS data

We present the analysis of the radar coverage capability provided by a Radar Network of Cooperative Vessels (RNCV) that exploits ship-borne radars and AIS (Automatic Identification System) channel to share radar plots in a dense maritime traffic area. The analysis is conducted on real AIS data relative to the maritime surface traffic within the Sicily Channel. The cloud of AIS data is pre-processed by the NATO's Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) in order to extract recurrent vessel's routes and to define harbors, offshore platforms, entry and exit points. The proposed study is intended to investigate which routes and how many vessels need to be included in the RNCV system in order to provide a given percent of space/time radar coverage in the selected geographic scenario.