THE Port of Antwerp is testing a fully automatic sounding boat to measure water depth to
ensure safe passage for ships.
The Echodrone is a prototype
that is being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the
Echo.
Once the extensive trials are
completed the Echodrone will be based in the Deurganck dock, where it
will operate alongside the bigger Echo to measure the water depth of the
available berths at the busiest of the tidal quays for handling containers.
The technology for guiding and
operating the Echodrone was developed in collaboration with dotOcean,
a maritime technology company based in Brugge, Belgium.
"This technology is based on
assembling detailed information in the cloud," said dotOcean co-founder Koen
Geirnaert in a report by American Shipper.
"Data from all sorts of devices
throughout the port is made available over the internet and then selectively
compiled and translated into useful information by algorithms in the cloud.
"The Echodrone is designed to
navigate fully independently using this verified data unlike the previous
generation of automatic vessels that had to rely on their own onboard sensors.
This makes the Echodrone one of the first of a completely new generation of
robots," Mr Geirnaert said.
The authority's innovation
enablement manager Piet Opstaele added: "With the help of the Echodrone it
will be possible in the future to carry out other types of measurements such as
environmental surveys, inspecting quay walls and so on. This technology is a
real breakthrough for us in our quest for smart solutions for the port of the
future."
Source : HKSG.
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