Smart Port Solutions

The Port of Barcelona, in collaboration with the different terminals, has developed a system that makes it possible to control, expedite and optimise the passage of the more than 4,000 trucks that pass through the port area on a daily basis. 

At the documentary level, in the Port of Barcelona 100% of the documentation necessary for the entry or exit of a container is processed electronically and is shared by all the participants in the chain. Now, with the Virtual Gates platform, we can also obtain in real time information on what happens at the physical access doors to the terminals, since several sensors transmit it in real time to a service that integrates it into shared systems, allowing data to be compared.

Thanks to obtaining this data, it has been possible to develop intelligent solutions such as the Integrated Customs Control System, SICAD, which connects with customs and allows you to automatically know if a truck can leave with your goods, or calculate the waiting time of the vehicles before entering the port by adding the data of the terminal doors with those of access to the Port. All these improvements not only result in time savings in operations and a reduction in gas emissions, but thanks to artificial intelligence it is also possible to carry out predictive models that contribute to decision making in the logistics-port chain.

From the control tower, the Port of Barcelona manages and controls maritime operations and services in real time.

In communication with the different port and emergency services, Maritime traffic is controlled and coordinated in real time, berths are supervised, calls are recorded and the different services required by the ships can be traced, such as pilots, towing, mooring or fuel supply. A future technological update of the control tower will incorporate new technologies (machine learning, 5G, etc.) that will allow the optimisation of operations and the manoeuvres of arriving ships to the port or their geolocation through visual recognition.

The implementation of automated access controls to the port allows the planning of logistics transport, as well as the control of the passage of vehicles in the port area.

The cameras installed at the access doors to the Port de Barcelona allow everything from checking the gauge or the state of the load, to reading the license plates that automatically activate the barriers. The multiple access systems allowed and the digital signalling of the lanes allow carriers better management for the delivery of goods in the different terminals.

The control centre of the port police has a centralised communication system that integrates all the systems of the port area and allows intelligent police management in coordination with other security forces. The geolocation of the agents or the alarms, identification of the license plates of the vehicles that pass through the port area and their analysis with the police databases, increased vision via sensors of everything that happens in the area, or control of the different cameras remotely, allow the port police intelligent security management.

The new centre will integrate a system with more than 400 cameras that incorporates a software with which automated security management can be carried out that will also improve the mobility of people and vehicles in the port area.

The Port of Barcelona Telecommunications Plan project involves an investment of 10 million euros and will allow the digital transformation of the port ecosystem to continue. 

Among others initiatives, the fibre optics will be renewed and expanded throughout the port territory and a 5G network prepared for the Internet of Things will be installed, which will allow the development of a range of support services to commercial and logistics activities. The new high-capacity telecommunications network will be a reality in the Port of Barcelona in 2023.