Logistics Technology

The new laws of robotics set foot on port logistics

Drones and mobile robots are already a reality in port logistics. They have the ability to understand their environment and make their own decisions. They are the protagonists of the 'robota' revolution in smartports. 'Robota' in Czech means "hard work" and is the word chosen by playwright Karel Čapek in 1920 for a science fiction play. three decades later, Isaac Asimov coined robotic laws in I, Robot. Since then we knew that sooner or later robots, at different levels of sophistication, would become widespread in industrial economic life. This day has finally arrived.

Posted on 01.21.2022

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Since the 1950s or 1960s, robots have been working in factories, capable of knowing what is happening in their production line. (GettyImages)

For centuries, machines have been a fundamental part of day-to-day port operations. Today, technology offers them the possibility to make their own decisions and take charge of increasingly complex tasks, optimizing operations to the maximum.

Thus, it is common to see robots capable of identifying, classifying and transporting goods, or drones flying over the facilities to obtain information in real time.

Robotization in logistics

"All tasks that are repetitive and do not require special creativity or improvisation are subject to possible automation," explains Pablo Íñigo Blasco, robotics consultant and engineer at Plain Concepts, a company that offers innovative technological solutions. "As of today and at the logistics level, this includes a huge list of tasks."

According to the engineer, these tasks fall into three broad categories.

The first has to do with security and inspection. "Mobile robots or drones can move throughout the port to ensure security or perform real-time tracking of packages, pallets or containers entering and leaving the facility," Blasco says.
The second of the categories is based on automated transport or loading of these items. "Robots, for example, can be in charge of sorting goods and taking them to a temporary warehouse or to their destination within the port itself," explains the engineer. Here, for example, robots with articulated arms or autonomous vehicles become important.
Third and final, the ability to manipulate physical elements comes into play; for example, opening doors, activating keys or handling packages. This would be the most advanced option and, for now, the one that is the farthest from becoming a common reality in port logistics. Especially when it comes to drones.

Savings, precision and agility in robotics

The main advantages of applying these technological innovations to port logistics are related to economic savings, greater control over processes and improved times.

"Intelligent machines are a working system that is not yet very common, but it will be soon. The fact is that using a machine to perform automated tasks guarantees us that the results will be correct and that the data will be recorded without errors," says Blasco.

According to the study 'Of Robots and Men - in logistics. Towards a confident vision of logistics in 2025', by the strategic consulting firm Roland Berger, the incorporation of robotics in logistics will be behind a reduction of up to 40% in logistics costs and a significant increase in productivity by the middle of this decade.

Behind these figures are technological advances, a cost reduction of the robots themselves and the interest of logistics players in integrating them into their operations. "Robotic solutions have developed at great speed since the internet giants made them the spearhead of their expansion plans. The cost reductions and maturity of the solutions are such that we are now approaching a tipping point with the widespread presence of robots in warehouses," says Medhi El Alami, director at Roland Berger.

One of the characteristics of robotization is that it offers a flexible solution that can be integrated into infrastructures where people also operate. However, its introduction in logistics is expected to have direct consequences on employment: according to Roland Berger data, robots may lead to the disappearance of around 1.5 million low-skilled jobs in the Eurozone.

Robots and AI to transform logistics

The introduction of robotics in logistics in general and in the port environment in particular is not without challenges. "There are difficulties at several levels. Among them economic, legislative and technical," lists the robotics engineer at Plain Concepts.

At the technical level, the challenge ahead is getting robots to understand the environment around them and know how to adapt to new situations.

"There have been robots working in factories since the 1950s or 1960s, capable of knowing what's going on in their production line. If nothing is out of the ordinary, they perform their tasks without a problem," contextualizes Blasco.

"To transform logistics, the next step will be to get these robots to know how to react in more chaotic places, where there may be unforeseen events," he continues. This is achieved with artificial intelligence.

Thus, today the difficulty is not that robots can move or recognize elements. That has already been achieved. The challenge is for them to understand what is happening in the environment and react if something out of the ordinary happens.

For smart ports, it is also necessary that the rest of the agents (ships, external infrastructures or operators, for example) are also automated. In the age of digitalization, the challenge is for the port to function as a connected ecosystem in which the machinery can operate autonomously and intelligently.

Autonomous drones: the case of Antwerp

Since 2019, a swarm of autonomous drones has been flying over the Port of Antwerp’s facilities several times a day. Their aim is to collect information and send alerts to make the port a safer, more efficient and smarter place.

These drones perform VBLOS (beyond visual line of sight) flights, i.e. flights in which the craft goes beyond the pilot's line of sight and are operated remotely, from a pilot's station.

Thanks to the use of these drones, the Port of Antwerp has created projects such as PoA Drone Roadportal, an online platform to digitize and automate drone flight requests by operators. In addition, tools have been developed to improve port management and logistics thanks to technologies such as computer vision. Another example is smart cameras, capable of detecting everything from fuel spills to debris floating in the water.

The result is noticeable improvements at both the economic and organizational levels. "The cleanup of spills costs us more than a million euros a year. By using these technologies we will be able to detect spills faster and thus reduce the cost of cleaning them up," exemplifies Bob Spanoghe, Innovation Manager at Antwerp Port Authority. "We strongly believe in the value that drones can offer in the port operations environment."

The interconnection between different agents (such as ships, machinery, cameras or robots, for example) aims to improve port logistics, a goal pursued by ports in practically every corner of the world and which is undoubtedly getting closer and closer thanks to the advance of artificial intelligence, drones and robotics.