This project deals with the whole operation automation of maritime container terminal. The developed system will schedule in real-time the actions that must be done to achieve the best performance of the terminal operation based on the available resources and the yard layout.
To succeed in reaching this goal, three working areas has been identified:
· Gateway and machine control: The goal is the autonomous management of the terminal gateways and the automatic operation assistance of container handling machines.
· Container placement and container handling optimization: It must be developed a system that allows to increase the container density in the yard, reduce the container handling time and increase the productivity of the terminal machines. Furthermore, a visual monitoring system will be developed to improve the terminal supervision operations.
· Terminal information system: This system will store the machines and container position in the terminal in real time and it will provide an efficient information distribution between the components of the application.
This work is not mainly intended to reduce the manpower and increase the intakes, but to improve the service quality, the price and offer a quick response to the customer. This invest in technology will allow to compete in advance in the next millenium.