Volpe Center Highlights - May/June 2000
Human and Natural Environment
Director's Notes |
Focus |
Safety |
Human and Natural Environment |
Mobility |
Economic Growth and Trade |
National Security
Protect and enhance communities and the natural environment affected by transportation.
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Vessel Monitoring System Software Developed for the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA)
The Volpe Center is supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), also
referred to as NOAA Fisheries, in the development of a comprehensive Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS) to ensure compliance with the NMFS fishing regu-lations
and international agreements on protection of controlled fish stocks.
The VMS is a satellite-based tracking and communications system that will
provide operational capabilities to the Office of Law Enforcement headquar-ters
and the four NMFS regions in the Northeast, Alaska, Hawaii, and the
Southeast.
The Volpe Center contracted with Racal Tracs
Limited of Somerset, England, to purchase a com-mercial
off-the-shelf software program for use with
the VMS system. The VMS software allows law
enforcement officials at NMFS to monitor vessel
positions via satellite with respect to user-designated
closed fishing zones. Recently, testing of
the VMS software to ensure compliance with con-tract
requirements was successfully completed at
the Center. The NMFS sponsor and other designated
NMFS personnel were on hand to witness the tests.
Mr. Joe Koziol and Mr. Graham Watson of the
Technology Applications and Deployment Division
directed the tests, entered the results into
a logbook, collected comments made during the
testing, and prepared a report on the results.
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The VMS is a satellite-based tracking and communications system.
(Graphic courtesy of Mr. Joe Koziol)
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The tests consisted of checks on 255 line-by-line contract requirements and only one test partially failed.
A solution was proposed by Racal and will be incorporated into the next version of the VMS software. In addi-tion,
the software will be enhanced to include fish catch report capability. Network assurance testing is scheduled
to take place after the system is fully integrated and just before the initial operating capability.
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