Page 17 - Port of Hamburg Magazine 1.2020

Digitalization creates not just enthusiasm, but often also uncertainty. How essential will the hu- man being be in digitalized ports in future?
Not only digitalization of ports, but the entire future development, will – and must – be centred on man. We as humans and staffers dictate the rules for arti- ficial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous systems – and that will remain true. To facilitate this, we must address digitalization, its opportunities and risks – commercial, societal and economic – open- ly and actively. Simply looking on is in my view the wrong approach. We need to recognize, utilize and master positive developments and the host of op- portunities. To sum up,
Yet PORTwings is only one element in HPA’s Digital Testbed project. What are its further el- ements?
The Port of Hamburg as digital testbed is not sim- ply a project, but a far-reaching support program, making known lessons learned in ports in Germa- ny and elsewhere in the world. As part of that and along with PORTwings, the first version of ‘Digital Port Twins’ was developed and implemented – a virtual twin of the Port of Hamburg that records all relevant occurrences in the port in real time. For example, this covers the traffic situation on roads, water, and also mobile infrastructure. For
hanging around and doing
nothing is a step back,
with individual activities
being a thing of the past
– the future consists of
going forward together.
Communication and the
opportunity of making
digital technology/innova-
tion discernible and tangi-
ble, starting with the peo-
ple of our city, is a central
element of moving forward. The planned ‘House of Digitalization’ in Hamburg will be a meaningful cen- tre for Hamburgians.
HPA is currently testing the deployment of drones as part of the PORTwings project. What precisely is the content of the project?
At HPA our aim is to further optimize the Port of Hamburg’s infrastructure by using new digital components. Flying drones, or UAVs, play a major part here. In the PORTwings project, we are cur- rently investigating how these can be intelligent- ly deployed. One important area for their use is disaster relief. With a flood or a fire, for instance, drones give us the opportunity through photos and videos to grasp a situation rapidly and in safety. Yet drones can also be important for maintenance and inspection of port facilities, e.g. by monitor- ing pipelines in the port. With PORTwings, drones are controlled and supervised from a central HPA console. Also being tested, however, are automa- tion and timing control of flight routines. We use drones already in operation at HPA for checking buildings at points that humans could only reach with substantial effort. Last summer, for exam- ple, flying drones were extensively deployed on inspecting the bridge over the Köhlbrand.
Not only digitalization of ports, but the entire future development, will – and must – be centred on man.
the moment, these are covered by four autono- mous control consoles. Just as described, an- other one covers air traf- fic. The digital twin com- bines and coordinates these data in an intelli- gent way, partly through simulations on quantum computers. It accord- ingly provides the basis for the preliminary step
towards a real Port Traffic Center. Using its digital image, we are therefore able to optimize move- ments in the port and to control these through the Port Traffic Center. Here we invariably think global, since the solutions developed in the project are also transferrable internationally and nationally to other ports. Through the global chainPORT port network, HPA is regularly exchanging information worldwide.
Is digitalization the key to securing the port’s future or does the growing exchange of data and virtual services render the traditional exchange of goods increasingly superfluous?
Innovations, sustainability and digitalization will alter and in particular, improve many routines in the port. It is absolutely certain that container and bulk freight shipments will continue in the port. Yet these will involve new features: Sustainabil- ity, efficiency and humanity are for me the laws of the new decade that has just commenced. And the accepted and simplifying view of the idea that freight is to be shifted from point A to point B on the globe by means of a container will create new, undreamt of opportunities in the Port of Hamburg. Let’s look towards these opportunities with fresh optimism! ■
Port of Hamburg Magazine | March 2020 | 17
DIGITAL DECADE ■