The department Nautical Systems of the Institute of Communications and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center is working on new methods and technologies to increase the accuracy and integrity of data provided by maritime sensors and services.

Within the vicinity of the Research Port Rostock the Institute is operating two services as contributions to estimate the integrity and/or plausibility of data and signals of navigation relevant systems.

The Service MGBAS evaluates the signals of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) under consideration of the performance requirements on accuracy and integrity for different manoeuvres and sailing areas. In addition the service monitors the usability of differential GNSS services like RTK und IALA Beacon DGNSS. For this specific augmentation signals are transmitted via RTCM3-format to enable the position estimation by using phase-based differential methods (Real Time Kinematic) or code based methods (IALA Beacon DGNSS). The provision of the RTCM3 correction signals takes place permanently and free of charge at 447,95 MHz (Grant number 81090350 of BNA) via a reference station installed at Oversea port. As a second operating mode the correction signals contain extended RTCM3+ data, including integrity information for each signal and each service. The access at the correction signals is possible via an internet based NTRIP broadcaster but requires specific access privileges.

The Service AIS-P serves for the plausibility assessment of AIS data. The AIS data are received from an AIS station within the port and are sent from AIS equipped vessels in distances up to 25 nm. Specific parameter of the AIS data as e.g. position, SOG, and COG are checked by a plausibility processor. The Service declares a plausibility flag for each parameter and estimates the remaining measurement error.