Cisco and IBM have completed the integration of their Kinetic platform and Watson IoT system to improve data processing and intelligence at the network edge. The partnership is being brought to bear on autonomous shipping and logistics in the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port by cargo tonnage.
“We’ve been working to enable businesses in every industry to leverage the combined power of IBM Watson IoT in the cloud and Cisco’s Kinetic IoT data management platform to drive maximum business value from their IoT data, no matter where it resides,” said Macario Namie, head of IoT strategy at Cisco in a blog post.
Among their industrial deployments, the pair has been working to combine Cisco’s edge and fog capabilities with IBM’s cloud and analytics solutions in order to enable the Port of Rotterdam to host autonomous ships by 2030, and to enable IoT data services to drive greater efficiency and revenues for clients of the port.
The Port of Rotterdam processes more than 140,000 ships every year. Coordinating the berthing of each vessel is a complex task, said Cisco, involving many parties and data points.
IBM and Cisco are collecting data about environmental conditions at the Port of Rotterdam, including wind, visibility and tidal information to discern the optimal conditions and timing for the berthing and passage of ships. They are also providing guidance on the clearance heights for ships, increasing capacity of ships based on clearance heights to increase the revenues generated by each ship entering the port.
“That same data can even be used in the future to give ships advice on the most environmental friendly conditions to enter the port, saving fuel costs and lowering the CO2 footprint of the Port of Rotterdam,” said Namie.
He suggested the Port of Rotterdam experience will inform and improve its industrial IoT applications and insights. “We’re not done yet. With the success of the Port of Rotterdam, IBM and Cisco are working together to solve the IoT problems of customers around the world and help them turn their IoT data into business gold.”
Rolls-Royce said last week autonomous ships will be a reality before robot aircraft or driverless cars, despite the maritime industry’s late start with digital technologies. The British engine maker said it will test autonomous tug boats in port waters along the Finnish coast this summer.
Meanwhile, Nokia and Deutsche Telekom said in February they are testing out 5G applications with the Port of Hamburg, in Germany.
