What to expect from 5G at logistics and port management?
Seven of the world’s busiest container terminals are in China but one of them is completely void of workers. Back in 2017 the eastern port of Qingdao became Asia’s first fully-automated port with the Qingdao New Qianwan Automatic Container Terminal, a change which was likely to revolutionize the global shipping business.
All controlled by artificial intelligence, through laser scanning and positioning, the program was able to locate the four corners of each container. It accurately grabs them and puts them onto the driverless trucks.
With its implementation, labor costs were reduced by 70 percent because of this automatic terminal, while efficiency increased by 30 percent, being able to operate at night.
Nowadays more ports have considered a form of automation and smart design to remain competitive in a crowded maritime market. At the end of 2019 during the Smart Maritime Network summit held in Singapore, the debate was focused on the development of smart port technology linked with 5G.
With the arrival of 5G, applications will improve efficiency and optimise logistics supply chain and port operations. There are several ports currently investigating these practices, including Rotterdam, Singapore, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Hamburg as well as Qingdao, this last one being the first to apply these technologies.
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