Automatic Publication of a MIS Product to GeoNetwork: Case of the AIS Indexer

Abstract : An Automatic Identification System (AIS) reception indexer Java application was developed in the summer of 2011, based on the work of Lapinski and Isenor (Estimating Reception Coverage Characteristics of AIS, Lapinski and Isenor, Journal of Navigation, October 2011 [1]). This application gathers AIS messages and produces a coverage map, graphically representing the quality and fidelity of signals received by coastal sensors. The application gathers its inputs either from static data files or a streaming input source. OODA Technologies improved the application in 2012 under call-ups 5 [2] and 6 [3, 4] to the standing offer W7707-115137. Several bugs were fixed, performance was improved, an alert system algorithm was implemented, several features were added and usability was improved. During the same period, an investigation was conducted by OODA Technologies, under call-up number 4 to the standing offer W7707-115137, about the feasibility of using the open source GeoNetwork application for information product management and access within TRINITY. As a result, GeoNetwork is being installed by MARLANT N6 in the Integrated Testing Environment (ITE) for TRINITY. This work involves the development of an application, the GeoNetwork Publisher (GNP), that automatically publishes to GeoNetwork AIS index reception maps produced by the AIS Indexer. Currently, the AIS Indexer interfaces with the GNP to publish maps. The GNP can however be re-used for the publication of other products. The use of GNP reduces the overhead of producing metadata for every publication and thus ultimately encourages Geonetwork usage. The GNP is part of a global effort to distribute and manage Maritime Information Support (MIS) products.