A Comprehensive Analysis of the Performance and Capabilities of the SDRangel Platform for Automatic Identification System Signal Reception

Abstract Maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS) monitoring faces critical challenges regarding cost-effectiveness and analytical capabilities. Commercial receivers present significant financial barriers for research and education, while existing software-defined radio (SDR) implementations lack systematic evaluation of advanced analysis tools. This research addresses these gaps by providing comprehensive performance analysis of SDRangel software for AIS signal reception and processing. The research objectives were to evaluate SDRangel’s real-time signal analysis capabilities, assess advanced visualisation tools for maritime traffic monitoring and quantify system reliability through extended acquisition. The experimental setup utilised cost-effective hardware with commercial maritime very high frequency (VHF) antenna. During continuous 24-hour operation, the system successfully demodulated 173,739 AIS messages from both AIS channels. Real-time analysis confirmed high signal stability and demonstrated AIS Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) structure visualisation; specialised plugins enabled comprehensive vessel tracking and message analysis. Post-processing analysis revealed the detection of a fixed Aid to Navigation (AtoN) station signal at an extreme distance of 193.2 NM, confirming the system’s high sensitivity under specific atmospheric conditions. This research bridges the gap between basic SDR implementations and operational surveillance requirements by demonstrating that SDRangel provides capabilities which were, previously, only available in commercial systems. The software’s modular architecture enables integrated spectral analysis, automated decoding, geographic visualisation, and post-processing, which is essential for research and operational applications. Scientific contributions include empirical validation of open-source SDR reliability, quantitative performance benchmarks and the demonstration of advanced analytical capabilities. Practical advantages encompass significant cost reduction, compared to commercial solutions, flexibility for custom applications, and accessibility for research and education. The findings demonstrate substantial impact potential by democratising access to advanced AIS monitoring, enabling cost-effective research infrastructure for signal propagation studies, and providing comprehensive platforms for maritime communication education.