Innovative port authorities and terminal operators are increasing efficiency, throughput, safety, and security by connecting people, equipment, and applications.
Taking this into consideration, CISCO presents four top ways IIoT (industrial internet of things) is transforming terminal operations.
1. Terminal automation with terminal operating systems
The engine for automation is a terminal operating system (TOS) that controls container movement around the port or terminal. For example, automating berth planning, yard operations, and gate operations helps improve utilization of assets, labor, and equipment.
Information flows between the TOS in the server room to moving assets over Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul. Those assets can include vessels, trains, trucks, and container-handling equipment (CHE) like quay cranes, rubber-tired gantries (RTGs), auto straddle carriers, rail-mounted gantries (RMG), etc
2. Integrated TOS and OCR
As containers are unloaded, cameras on ship-to-shore cranes capture images, including standardized markings indicating origin and destination, condition, door direction, etc.
The images travel to a local optical character recognition (OCR) server, which interprets the markings and updates the TOS. The TOS can efficiently schedule offload and select a storage area, and is kept up-to-date on newly arrived containers.
Throughput increases and safety improves because workers don’t need to go near heavy equipment to read container IDs.
3. Tele-remote and autonomous vehicle control
With an ultra-reliable wireless network, operators can remotely control cranes from the safety and comfort of a temperature-controlled office. The benefit of autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) is their ability to operate continuously, despite bad weather. Overall, downtime is diminished, productivity improves, and operator safety is ensured.
4. Cybersecurity
CISCO recommends a four-step process to defend against cyberattacks at ports:
- First, understand all assets that are connected to the OT network.
- Next, segment the OT network into zones containing assets that need to talk to each other. For example, cameras used for OCR don’t need to talk to the tele-remote controller. Segmenting the network keeps malware that infects one zone from spreading to others.
- Add continuous scanning for malware and unusual activity.
- Lastly, create a holistic view of all security events by bringing together information from the IT and OT networks.
