The Port of Barcelona began the ‘5G Maritime’ pilot test in July, a project that aims to validate the location of ships in real time and with great precision, obtaining image data that complement the information of the current geolocation systems of the port.
The pilot is based on a technological solution that combines artificial intelligence and cloud computing with edge computing technology and ultra-fast, low-latency communications with commercial 5G network.
Having very accurate and real-time information on the ships’ movements and geolocation is essential not only to optimize the port’s berthing space, but also to offer maximum security to ships and port services when making movements.
‘5g Maritime’ aims to help the Port of Barcelona optimize the management of maritime traffic, improve safety and sustainability thanks to complete information on ships, their situation and the actions of the different port services . It is a project included in the 5G Barcelona initiative and promoted by the Port of Barcelona, IBM, Vodafone, Huawei, Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the i2CAT Foundation, with the support of the Department of Digital Policies of the Generalitat de Catalunya within the framework of the 5G Strategy of Catalonia.
This solution allows to obtain the geolocation of bow and stern and indicator of movement of the ship with a high precision, enabling the remote assistance to the navigation.
The port practitioner will be able to accurately estimate valuable information for the operations of entry and berthing of vessels in the port, such as the location of several ships sailing through the docks of the Port of Barcelona, the course or even the speed of the ship itself, all from video analysis from 5G cameras installed around the port precinct.
Jordi Puigneró, Minister of Digital Policies, commented on the project:
It is part of the Government’s 5G Strategy and the alliance we maintain with the Port of Barcelona to accelerate its digitization and turn it into a SmartPort of reference. Projects such as this allow us to anticipate the impact of 5G and other advanced technologies in different areas of our society
In addition, Mercè Conesa, president of the Port of Barcelona, explained that having a network of cameras connected using 5G technology would be an important step forward in terms of safety for maritime traffic in the Port of Barcelona.
