The figure shows an AIS base station which transmits and receives
information (including buoy information) to and from a vessel. The bubble
gives an indication of how the information received will be displayed on a
ship's ECDIS.
Synthetic AIS AtoNs are broadcasts from a base station, or another AIS equipped AtoN, for an existing, physical AtoN. In the case of a navigation buoy their status and other information is collected from systems on the buoy and passed by GSM or other radio link to an AIS base station. The AIS base station then broadcasts this information so that it appears to come from the location of the buoy. An AIS enabled ECDIS, radar or other navigation display on the vessel then portrays the information at the location of the charted object.
Key feature of Synthetic AtoNs:
- A physical AtoN is present.
- A local AIS base station broadcasts information about the AtoN as if it was from the AtoN itself.
- The true position will be provided to the base station by a datalink, so that it can be broadcast to the mariner.
The mariner is able to "see" the AtoN on an AIS enabled display and interrogate it to seek additional information.
