nmea-kit

Bidirectional NMEA 0183 parser/encoder with AIS message decoding, written in Rust.

| Crate | nmea-kit | | Version | 0.5.2 | | MSRV | 1.85.0 | | Edition | 2024 | | Dependencies | 0 | | License | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | | NMEA sentences | 34 (bidirectional: parse + encode) | | AIS message types | 16 (read-only decode) |

• Shared frame layer — handles $ (NMEA) and ! (AIS) framing, IEC 61162-450 tag blocks
• No nom, no proc-macro — FieldReader/FieldWriter helpers for clean sequential parsing

Quick start

Parse an NMEA sentence

use nmea_kit::{parse_frame, NmeaSentence};

let frame = parse_frame("$IIMWD,046.,T,046.,M,10.1,N,05.2,M*43").unwrap();
let sentence = NmeaSentence::parse(&frame);

match sentence {
    NmeaSentence::Mwd(mwd) => {
        println!("True wind dir: {:?}°", mwd.wind_dir_true);
        println!("Wind speed: {:?} kts", mwd.wind_speed_kts);
    }
    _ => {}
}

Encode and send an NMEA sentence

use nmea_kit::nmea::NmeaEncodable;
use nmea_kit::nmea::sentences::Dbt;

let dbt = Dbt {
    depth_feet: Some(7.7),
    depth_meters: Some(2.3),
    depth_fathoms: Some(1.3),
};

let sentence = dbt.to_sentence("SD");
// "$SDDBT,7.7,f,2.3,M,1.3,F*05\r\n"

Decode AIS messages

use nmea_kit::parse_frame;
use nmea_kit::ais::{AisParser, AisMessage};

let mut parser = AisParser::new();
let frame = parse_frame("!AIVDM,1,1,,A,13aEOK?P00PD2wVMdLDRhgvL289?,0*26").unwrap();

if let Some(AisMessage::Position(pos)) = parser.decode(&frame) {
    println!("MMSI: {}, lat: {:?}, lon: {:?}", pos.mmsi, pos.latitude, pos.longitude);
}

Architecture

flowchart TD
    raw["raw line"] --> pf["parse_frame()"]
    pf --> frame["NmeaFrame\nprefix · talker · sentence_type · fields"]
    frame --> known["$ + known type"]
    frame --> unknown["$ + unknown type"]
    frame --> ais_in["! AIVDM/AIVDO"]
    known --> typed["Typed struct\nMwd, Rmc…"]
    unknown --> raw_fields["Raw fields\npass-through"]
    ais_in --> ais_msg["AisMessage enum\nTypes 1-5, 14, 18, 19, 21, 24, 27"]

Frame layer validates checksum, strips tag blocks, extracts talker ID and sentence type. Shared by both NMEA and AIS.

NMEA content uses FieldReader/FieldWriter for sequential field parsing and encoding. Each sentence type is a standalone struct with parse(), encode(), and to_sentence(). Parsing is lenient: parse() always returns Some for known types, mapping missing or malformed fields to None. This is intentional for marine instruments that often produce partial data.

AIS content decodes 6-bit ASCII armor into a bitstream, handles multi-fragment reassembly, and extracts typed fields. Read-only (transmitting AIS requires certified hardware).

Supported types

NMEA 0183 sentences (bidirectional) — full coverage list

¹ Xdr has an additional to_sentences() -> Vec<String> method that automatically splits many measurements into multiple sentences to stay within the 82-character NMEA line limit.

AIS messages (read-only) — full type list

Key improvements over existing crates

Features

[dependencies]
nmea-kit = "0.5"

Use a group feature for common use cases:

# Only positioning sentences (GGA, GLL, RMC, GNS), no AIS
nmea-kit = { version = "0.3", default-features = false, features = ["positioning"] }

Cherry-pick individual sentences you need:

nmea-kit = { version = "0.3", default-features = false, features = ["rmc", "mwd"] }

NMEA-only (no AIS, all sentences):

nmea-kit = { version = "0.3", default-features = false, features = ["nmea"] }

Coordinate conversion

NMEA sentences encode lat/lon as DDMM.MMMM; AIS uses decimal degrees. Two helpers bridge the gap:

use nmea_kit::nmea::{ddmm_to_decimal, decimal_to_ddmm};

// Parse a GGA latitude field: "4807.038" N → 48.1173°
let lat = ddmm_to_decimal(4807.038); // → 48.1173

// Encode back for a sentence
let ddmm = decimal_to_ddmm(48.1173); // → 4807.038

Apply the N/S / E/W sign separately (negate for S or W).

Documentation

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0