← BFi53ER0 / BFi53ER0S EdgeRouter Solution · Virtual AIS: Maritime & Disaster Response (in development)

Drones, crews and field sensors, on the chart you already use.

Ships announce themselves with AIS. Drones broadcast Remote ID; crews, beacons and field sensors report over Bluetooth LE and DECT NR+. BFi53MLG modules and BFi53ER0 / BFi53ER0S EdgeRouters collect them, and a Virtual AIS output turns each position and status into standard AIS messages sent over your IP network — so the chart plotters and vessel-monitoring software already in use show them as targets, unchanged. IP only: nothing is transmitted on the marine VHF channels.

Product combinationBFi53MLG modules + BFi53ER0 / BFi53ER0S EdgeRouters

In development Bluetooth LE + DECT NR+ NMEA 0183 over UDP / TCP IP only · no VHF

Discuss your site → Hardware specification

Fishing fleet in a harbour — Fishing fleets & ports *· maritime*

Drone over mountains — Airspace *· Remote ID*

BFi53ER0S EdgeRouter — BFi53ER0S *· mesh root*

Three products, three roles

A receiving network with no base station and no SIM.

Receivers sit where the signals are — on a dock, a lamp post, a mast or a vehicle. The gateways merge what they hear, add signal strength and hand it to your platform; the BFi53ER0S carries it home over a licence-free DECT NR+ mesh where there is no cable.

Embedded receiver

BFi53MLG module

Nordic Semiconductor nRF5340 + front-end module (PA / LNA)
Bluetooth LE 1M / 2M / Coded PHY, Mesh, 802.15.4
12 × 16 mm M.2 LGA; core rated −40 to +105 °C
Built into docks, lamp posts, camera poles and vehicles — module details

Bluetooth LE gateway

BFi53ER0 EdgeRouter

Listens on all three Bluetooth advertising channels, all the time
Merges the copies of each message, adds signal strength and a missed-message count
JSON and Virtual AIS over UDP / TCP, IPv4 and IPv6
PoE+ or 14–32 V DC, on shore, at a port or in a hut

Mesh root & gateway

BFi53ER0S EdgeRouter

Bluetooth LE and DECT NR+ in one unit
Root of a multi-hop DECT NR+ mesh for sites beyond cable and cellular
DECT NR+ up to +21 dBm (1.9 GHz) / +19 dBm (915 MHz)
Also receives Bluetooth LE itself

Virtual AIS

One set of positions, one more output.

The platform converts every drone, crew member and beacon it tracks into AIS messages in NMEA 0183 and sends them over UDP or TCP. Chart and vessel-monitoring software reads them like any other AIS feed — no plug-in, no change.

!AIVDM,1,1,,A,…*hh → UDP / TCP

What the chart shows

Position, course and speed, name, and status: reporting, lost contact — with the last known position and time — or SOS. Drones and people appear as distinct target types.

IP only, never on VHF

Nothing is transmitted on the marine AIS channels, so no AIS transmitter licence is involved. The feed stays on your network.

Never mistaken for a real target

Identifiers come from the platform’s own numbering and stay clear of the ranges reserved for AIS-SART, man-overboard and other safety devices.

Applications

At sea, in the mountains, and in the air above them.

Maritime

Fishing fleets, offshore wind and marine works
A gateway on shore or aboard as the root; crews and equipment check in on schedule
A missed check-in puts the last known position and time on the chart

Disaster prevention & response

Mountain huts, trailheads, shelters and patrol teams, relayed along the route over DECT NR+
Regular check-ins; a lost-contact alert marks where a search should start
Teams and the drones supporting them on one map

Airspace awareness

Ports, power plants, campuses and event sites
Drones broadcasting Remote ID (FAA 14 CFR Part 89 in the U.S.) shown with their position and operator location
Your own fleet: take-offs, landings and tracks, shared across docking stations

Where it stands

The hardware exists; the application is in development.

Hardware and capabilities todayWhat this application will build on

The three products: BFi53MLG module, BFi53ER0 and BFi53ER0S EdgeRouters
Bluetooth LE capture and forwarding as JSON over UDP and TCP, IPv4 and IPv6
BANFi’s own DECT NR+ stack: multi-hop mesh, make-before-break handover and paging of a specific device
Public hardware specification for the BFi53ER0 / BFi53ER0S and the BFi53MLG module

In developmentScheduled for the product release

Remote ID message decoding (ASTM F3411 / EN 4709-002) on the existing capture pipeline
Bluetooth Long Range (Coded PHY) reception in the gateway firmware
Virtual AIS output and identifier planning
Check-in report format, lost-contact alerts and integration with your platform

Limits. This application has not yet been measured in the field. Remote ID shows only drones that broadcast it; drones that do not, or that falsify it, need radar or RF detection alongside. Bluetooth LE Remote ID is in scope; the Wi-Fi forms are not. Range depends on antenna, mounting height and site, and is measured on site before anything is committed. DECT NR+ on the BFi53ER0S is not yet US-certified; approval for your country is confirmed in writing before shipment. Check-in and lost-contact reporting supplement a team’s own procedures and do not replace EPIRBs, PLBs, AIS-SARTs or other required safety equipment.

NMEA 0183 is a standard of the National Marine Electronics Association. Bluetooth is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Nordic Semiconductor and nRF5340 are trademarks of Nordic Semiconductor ASA. Photos: Unsplash.