A real frame from the display. It is mirrored left to right, because the display is designed to be bounced off a mirror onto a ceiling.
Open-source ship-traffic display
Portsviews turns real vessel movements into a living display for your wall, desk or projector. The software is free and open source, and it runs today.
Free and open source. No account, no subscription, nothing to pay for the software. The waitlist is for the planned HarborScope display.
A real frame from the display. It is mirrored left to right, because the display is designed to be bounced off a mirror onto a ceiling.
The next milestone
The software works. Now I am working toward the first HarborScope prototype: a dedicated display that shows live ship traffic in your space.
First prototype goal
US$2,000
An estimate. Real costs, shipping and import duties may change it, and I will update this page if they do.
Contributions go toward prototype hardware, the display, the enclosure and testing. I will publish what was raised and what was spent on the support page.
Voluntary contributions. This is not a preorder, and no finished device is promised.
One email when the HarborScope prototype reaches a milestone, and one when the first units are real. Nothing in between. The waitlist is only for the physical display: you do not need it to use the free software, and signing up is not a purchase.
I agree to receive occasional emails about HarborScope. You can unsubscribe at any time. More in the privacy policy.
Ships broadcast their position constantly, all day, on a public radio channel. Point a feed at a stretch of water and the traffic arrives.
Run Portsviews on a laptop or any computer that can run Node and drive a screen. The ships appear where they really are, moving in real time.
No app to open, no login to check. Once it is running, it just keeps going.
You need a computer that can run Node, a screen or projector, and a free AISstream.io key. The README has the ten-minute version.
Yes. The software is open source under the MIT licence and costs nothing to run beyond your own computer. HarborScope will cost money when it exists; there is no price yet.
A computer that can run Node, a screen or projector, and a free AISstream.io key. The README walks through it in about ten minutes.
The planned physical version of Portsviews: a dedicated display that shows live ship traffic in your space. It is at the prototype stage and is not for sale.
There is no date. The first step is a working prototype, and people on the waitlist hear first.
Into prototype hardware, the display, the enclosure and testing. The support page explains how contributions work and records what has been raised and spent.
No. It is voluntary support for the project: no equity, no preorder and no promised device.
Anywhere ships broadcast, which is most busy water. The demo is the Dover Strait. Coverage from free feeds is patchy in some places, and you can build a map for any coast with one command.
I store your address only to send the updates above. No name, no location, no tracking. More in the privacy policy.