Smart port overview
The smart port solution uses IoT, 5G, artificial intelligence, and digital twins to automate port operations and run them with less manual intervention. China ranks among the world leaders in port throughput, yet conventional ports still carry high labor cost, hit efficiency ceilings, and face serious safety risk. Automated quay cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, driverless container trucks (AGVs), and intelligent tallying raise handling throughput, lower operating cost, and keep the work safer.
The system brings ships, cargo, vehicles, and people into one data set, so port operations can be seen, managed in detail, and run intelligently. Low-latency 5G supports remote control and coordination of driverless trucks. BeiDou high-precision positioning gives AGVs centimeter-level navigation. AI vision reads container numbers and detects box damage. A digital twin builds a three-dimensional model of the port for job simulation and dispatch optimization. The solution fits container terminals, bulk terminals, petroleum terminals, and bonded logistics parks, and helps a port move toward unmanned or lightly staffed operations.
Annual container throughput of China's coastal ports
Handling efficiency gain at automated terminals
Labor cost that can be reduced
Conventional ports compared with smart ports
| Dimension | Conventional port | Smart port |
|---|---|---|
| Handling method | Operators run quay and yard cranes; output is limited by driver fatigue | Remote or fully automatic control, running around the clock |
| Horizontal transport | Drivers operate terminal trucks, with safety risk | Driverless AGVs and terminal trucks, dispatched with vehicle-to-infrastructure coordination |
| Tallying | Container numbers copied by hand, error-prone and slow | AI vision reads them automatically, with accuracy above 99% |
| Dispatch decisions | Driven by experience, hard to optimize across the terminal | Algorithms cut vessel waiting time by 30% |
Typical customer scenarios and how they are rolled out
Scenario 1: A new automated container terminal. Digital twins enter at the planning stage to simulate layout, equipment mix, and operating flows. During construction, a 5G private network, BeiDou ground-based augmentation, and the IoT platform are deployed together. At commissioning, automated quay cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, and AGVs go live as one system, so the terminal is smart from the day it opens.
Scenario 2: Upgrading an existing terminal. Take a staged path. Start with lighter applications such as intelligent tallying and video AI, which show results quickly and need less capital. Then retrofit quay and yard cranes for remote control. Finally, decide from volume whether driverless trucks are justified. A typical program runs 18–36 months and can be accepted and put into service in phases.
Scenario 3: Bulk and petroleum terminals. Deploy belt-conveyor condition monitoring, three-dimensional stockpile scanning, automatic ship-loader alignment, and environmental monitoring for dust and wastewater, so handling is automated and environmental compliance is met together.
