The Project Objectives

Smart Port Solutions
Employing ICT solutions to improve information flows between ports and port communities.

Green Port Solutions
Adopting green technologies to reduce the environmental impacts of port operations and save resources.

Interconnected Port Solutions
Combining different modes of transport and integrating different technologies to better monitor and control freight flows.

The Project Summary

The Port of the Future will be able to enhance sustainable development and to manage the resources to be invested and their employment for a competitive advantage. Therefore, the port of the future must be oriented to port community and have an operative strategic capability to work, in line with European purposes, on the following:

• Smart, through ICT solutions, because it is important to improvement exchange of information flows between port and port community;
• Interconnected with the use of a combination of different modes of transport and the integration of different technologies, because it is important to achieve better monitoring and controlling of the freight flows;
• Green through the adoption of green technologies because it is important to reduce the environmental impact of port operations saving the resources.

All in all, sustainable development is the present and future for ports that want to lead the industry supported by three cornerstones: Operational Excellence, Insightful Collaboration with partners through the supply chain, and top notch Safety, Health and Environmental practices.
PortForward proposes a holistic approach that will lead to a smarter, greener and more sustainable port ecosystem and which will include the following features:

• The introduction of an Internet of Things (IoT) concept for port assets (infrastructure, vehicles, cargo, people);
• The socio-economic analysis of the port interface with its surrounding area and the port-city, as well as the rest of the logistics value chain.

Our Challenges

• Lack of efficiency in operations with heterogeneous freights (rollon/roll-off cargo, containers)
• Need for real time monitoring of freight flows with end-to-end trackand-trace solutions to optimize port activities
• Need for remote monitoring and management of important port operations, such as maintenance scheduling, cargo and passenger traffic, especially for short sea shipping cases
• Interconnection with hinterland transportation with special focus on inland waterways
• Interface with the surrounding urban environment
• Experience sharing and transferability to other intermodal transport hubs
• Environmental impact reduction using green technologies and energy solutions saving

State of the Art Technologies

• An IoT concept for port assets
• Sensor deployment using e.g. cameras and multi-modal tracking devices
• Interconnection into one seamless, versatile and secure IoT network
• Remote management and intelligent maintenance tool
• Virtual Port tool providing centralized control and alternative visualisations
• Novel smart logistics platform with a decision support system (DSS)
• Environmental and energy monitoring/ optimisation system using the novel concept of Green Yard Scheduling
• Augmented reality (AR) for pilot assistance and remote assistance to workers/operators
• The socio-economic analysis of the port interface with its surrounding area and the port-city, as well as the rest of the logistics value chain