Design and Simulation of GPS, Compass, and Fuel Data Acquisition System for Ambulance Ship Path Planning

Abstract

Maritime ambulance vessels play a critical role in providing emergency medical services in archipelagic regions, where accurate navigation information and fuel monitoring are essential. This study presents the design and simulation of a navigation data acquisition system integrated with a web based ship navigation platform for ambulance ship path planning. The proposed system consists of a microcontroller-based hardware module and a web-based navigation simulation. The hardware module is implemented using an STM32 Bluepill microcontroller integrated with a GPS receiver, a digital compass with tilt compensation, and a fuel flow sensor to acquire ship position, speed, heading, and fuel consumption data. The acquired data are formatted into structured serial messages and transmitted via serial communication. Due to the absence of on-vessel deployment, the structured hardware data format is used as a reference input for the web-based simulation. The web platform applies a hybrid RRT* + A* path planning approach to generate safe sailing routes that avoid land obstacles. The simulation visualizes ship movement, navigation status, estimated travel distance, estimated time of arrival (ETA), and fuel consumption. The results demonstrate that the proposed system is capable of acquiring navigation and fuel data and providing a comprehensive visualization of ambulance ship navigation behavior. This system serves as a functional prototype and a foundation for future real-time integration in maritime ambulance operations.