5G-LOGINNOV is one of the flagship projects of ERTICO-ITS EUROPE and it will support the emergence of a European offer for new 5G core technologies.
5G-LOGINNOV’s main aim is to design an innovative framework addressing integration and validation of Connected Automated Driving/Mobility (CAD/CAM) technologies related to the industry 4.0 and port domains by creating new opportunities for LOGistics value chain INNOVation. Thanks to the new advanced capabilities of 5G relating to wireless connectivity and core network agility, 5G-LOGINNOV ports will not only significantly optimise their operations but also minimise their environmental footprint in the city and the disturbance to the local population.
“5G-LOGINNOV will be a catalyst for market opportunities built on 5G core technologies in the logistics and port operations domains, thus being a pillar of economic development and business innovation and promoting local innovative high-tech SMEs and start-ups” said project coordinator Dr. Eusebiu Catana. At the same time “This next-generation mobile network will deliver significantly increased operational performance (e.g. increased spectral efficiency, higher data rates, low latency, more connected devices), as well as superior user experience near to fixed network but offering full mobility and coverage” added further.
To implement and demonstrate the capabilities of these technologies, the project envisioned three Living Labs (LL).
Koper LL is directly linked to the Port of Koper and its logistic services, which is operated by Luka Koper Company.
The main applications and services that will be supported are based on Industry 4.0 scenarios and include use cases related to port control, logistics and remote automation. More specifically, as the Pilot Site leader Janez Sterle said “the following 5G-enabled logistics support scenarios will be implemented at the Container Terminal area“:
- Operating port STS crane will be equipped with industrial cameras for capturing and transfer of UHD streams to the Container Management System (CMS) for identification of container markers and detection of possible structural damage of containers using advanced video analytics based on AI/ML techniques. In addition, the transfer of remotely gathered information will be enabled and made available to other port support systems, e.g. Terminal Operating System (TOS).
- Port equipment monitoring & remote metering will be performed for scenarios supporting operating machine monitoring (such as terminal tractors) by means of capturing and transfer of the key information (consumption, positions and another related metering) to the targeted port support system.
- A resilient 5G-based operational network scenario will be implemented to provide alternative 5G network capabilities to the established operational WLAN network, supporting data transfer redundancy between the operational port infrastructure and the operation centre.
Athens LL will exploit several functions of 5G technology to address demanding logistics and Industry 4.0 scenarios in port operations. “Optimising real-time operations requires time-constrained and precise updates over a set of participating assets (e.g. trucks, cranes, lifts) that address different phases of interconnected port operations” added the Pilot Site leader Pavlos Basaras. 
At Piraeus port, real-time traffic regulation and coordination over a fleet of 5G connected trucks will be realised through low-latency transmissions and enhanced localisation services, while also telemetry data from a set of diverse on-truck sensors will be utilised.
Edge computing is a pioneering technology that enables the evolution to 5G and beyond architectures, designed to put applications and data closer to devices and their users (targeting diverse market verticals), in order to overcome the intrinsic problems of the traditional cloud, such as high latency and the lack of security. Far-edge computing will be exploited by 5G-LOGINNOV in Athens Living Lab to address two critical use cases:
- To improve the safety of employees and other personnel within the premises of PCT. Frequent incidents involving boom collisions, gantry collisions or stack collisions along with the presence of stevedoring personnel in the area make the risk for serious bodily injuries considerable. A far-edge (low latency) computing approach will be adopted, integrated into a pioneering 5G-IoT device, for deterring human presence in areas not allowed, based for instance on innovative machine learning techniques. The realisation of this use case will minimise the risk of serious bodily injuries by triggering alerts to responsible personnel and/or voluminous video streams (when necessary) from associated 4K cameras to the MANO platform that will be developed in 5G-LOGINNOV.
- To target remote automation of port operations and logistics support focusing on detecting the presence/absence of container seals. Currently, the identification of presence or absence of container seals occurs manually, i.e. by an appointed employee, raising safety concerns, sub-optimal use of human resources in yard equipment and port operations, and increased manual effort (e.g. manual database update, etc.). The envisioned use case employs a similar far-edge computing (5G-IoT) device operating at port machinery (such as lifts, forklifts, terminal tractors, etc.), utilising a 4K video stream and e.g. computer vision techniques, to automate and manage end-to-end the life cycle of the service for detecting container seals. 5G transmissions will relay the inference of the model to the MANO platform targeting the logistics sector and Industry 4.0 scenarios.
Hamburg LL will demonstrate the potential of leveraging positive
environmental impact by using 5G for sustainable traffic management and will develop and implement a methodology to capture the effect of the traffic infrastructure on regional emissions, thus making them comparable by quantifying relevant factors (driver profile, vehicle profile, loading, etc.) in the context of Traffic Management System (TMS) measures. To this purpose, the following interactions with system elements of traffic management will be demonstrated:
- Emission data from floating vehicles/trucks will be made available in a cloud-based centre to enable situation monitoring on emissions.
- Current and predicted traffic light signalling will be made available from traffic centres to vehicles, in order to allow an optimised trajectory planning for automated vehicle manoeuvring across intersections, saving energy and emissions.
- Data received from floating vehicles/trucks and other data typically used in environmental traffic management will be used to trigger traffic management measures (strategies) in traffic control (e.g. changing traffic light framework programs, setting speed limits or providing instructions and directives to vehicles). For this use case, data from vehicles and traffic light status/predictions are based on real data linkage, while traffic management measures (i.e. real changes in signal control or speed limits/advice to the broad public) are demonstrated as a concept.
The Pilot Site leader Ralf Willenbrock specified that “These features will be implemented through a cloud-based Virtual Traffic Management Centre“.
Proposed use cases cover a broad range of applications and services supporting logistics operations in ports and hinterland, both at the operational level (e.g. increase of the overall efficiency, reduction of handling/transit times, preservation of assets, reduction of costs, etc.) and socio-environmental level (e.g. reduction of emissions, the safety of operating personnel, etc.). Activities carried out by 5G-LOGINNOV partners showed a very high degree of cooperation and integration between involved stakeholders, both at Living Lab level and at the global (project) level, contributing to reaching a common understanding of the project goals and the ways to pursue them, which is the key for the successful prosecution of activities.
By using new innovative concepts, applications and devices supported by disruptive 5G technologies, 5G-LOGINNOV aims to pave the way towards efficient freight and traffic operations at ports and logistics hubs.
Check out more about the 5G-LOGINNOV EU-funded project by visiting the website and the LinkedIn page!
This article is based on the 5G-LOGINNOV Project’s deliverable 1.1, available upon request here.
5G LOGINNOV is co-funded by the European Commission, Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 957400 (Innovation Action)
