Everything you are using or surrounded by right now has been shipped. Everything that has been shipped has been tracked, labeled, weighed, produced, and passed through a port. While many years ago this wasn’t the case, with the rise of technology, it is possible for the whole process to be done cheaper and faster. Which is pretty cool for the end customers and the businesses that use a fleet management company.
One of the largest ports in the world, Rotterdam, implements a smart port. In January 2018, the whole environment changed to include IoT (internet of things) and other advanced technologies. Axians and CSCO are partners on the projects too. The whole project is aimed at enabling the port to host connected ships by 2025 – which is no small feat.
Rotterdam will be using a centralized dashboard application that makes use of IoT-enabled sensors and AI to collect, process, and analyze data. This process will lead to data-driven decisions when it comes to available berths and other important statistics.
IoT Leaders
It wasn’t so long ago that shipowners and fleet managers had been dubbed laggards when it came to adopting the internet of things (IoT). IoT involves hooking up onboard systems to shore systems to provide real-time data analytics. These statistics will reduce fuel consumption, improve the companies regulation compliance, and the safety of all on board.
Autonomous
If you can automate a job, you are going to save time and money. People do it on a smaller scale with things like social media and other processes. However, it can now be done with ships. The autonomous ship can deliver goods without interference. There are also underwater, air-based, and surface vehicles that are monitoring activity. All of these autonomous systems are fitted with heat mapping and material detection, making them super safer, and they don’t need humans.
Port Management
A lot is happening in a port at any one time, so correct management is essential. Imagine being able to monitor it all via sensors and optimize the process too. Well, making use of robots to load and unload cargo makes it twice as fast and more than if humans were doing the same job. The fast a ship is loaded/unloaded, the less time it will need to spend docked. The less time it spends docked, the less money is spent all around. It also cuts down on emissions too – which is a great thing.
Shipping and technology are working well together. It is important to note that the shipping industry is growing and, with it, the need for manual labor as well as up to date technology. Using technology as a valuable tool to streamline processes will save money for every company that is involved in the shipping process – including the end-user.
The future of the shipping industry is sure to be interesting, as technology progresses we are more likely to see more autonomous vehicles making deliveries, and eventually the last mile will all be delivered by robots too – maybe.