Description of the project and main expected results
DataPorts is a project funded by the European Commission as part of the H2020 Big Data Value PPP programme, and coordinated by the Technological Institute of Informatics (ITI). DataPorts rely on the participation of 13 partners from five different nationalities. The project involves the design and implementation of a data platform, its deployment in two relevant European seaports connecting to their existing digital infrastructures and addressing specific local constraints. Furthermore, a global use case involving these two ports and other actors and targeting inter-port objectives, and all the actions to foster the adoption of the platform at European level.
Hundreds of different European seaports collaborate with each other, exchanging different digital data from several data sources. However, to achieve efficient collaboration and benefit from AI-based technology, a new integrating environment is needed. To this end, DataPorts project is designing and implementing an Industrial Data Platform.
DataPorts focusses on a key transport domain in the global supply chain: seaports, and on making it significantly easier, faster and more trustworthy to deliver big data solutions by integrating data assets from a variety of stakeholders.
The main ambition of DataPorts is to create a trusted and secure environment where all actors operating in the diverse supply chains involved in European seaports could share and trade their data. This will boost the transition from digital / connected to smart / cognitive ports, involving the setting-up of new services, an increase of the efficiency of the ports, and a reduction of the environmental impact.
DataPorts aims to take advantage of the huge amount of data generated around modern connected seaports, and the high level of digitalization that these ports have achieved, leveraging on the existing digital platforms and tools, to establish an industrial data platform where data coming from different stakeholders and external sources can be combined and processed and get real value from them in order to improve existing processes, establish novel cognitive and AI-based applications, and allow new business models.
This is done by focusing on the following:
DataPorts will allow establish a future Data Space unique for all maritime ports of Europe and contribute to the EC global objective of creating a Common European Data Space.
List and short description of relevant pilots/living labs or test beds.
The real-life deployment, testing and evaluation of the DataPorts platform takes place in two local demonstration sites, the ports of Valencia and Thessaloniki. The platform will be deployed and connected to the existing digital infrastructures of each port, given access to the different data sources and operated by relevant stakeholders, to whom the data platform will offer data driven services to address concrete problems.
The Valencia pilot defines four different scenarios that can be deployed during the pilot execution phase to demonstrate how DataPorts could be used by several port organizations. The first scenario focus on monitoring and tracking (container and goods tracking and transport operations) in order to increase the knowledge about a transport operation. The second scenario uses data aggregation and advanced analytics (port authority data sharing) for providing cognitive services, i.e., predictive services for a specific KPI for port stakeholders. And finally, this pilot develops two scenarios to create a trusted environment for sharing port documentation and weight verification.
The Port of Thessaloniki is going to make use of the Blockchain feature of the DataPorts platform, to implement two use cases that showcase secure information sharing between the Port and related parties (shipping agents and trucking companies), involving the business cycle of the electronic request to pick-up a container. DataPorts’ features of big data analytics are going to be utilised in use cases involving a) the production of statistics and queues predictions based on operational data and b) the merging of data coming from multiple sources including open (public) data and mobility data, to produce analytics and predictions related to activity in the port area.
In addition, there are two global Use Cases. The first one consist in the integration of Smart Containers data in the DataPorts platform. A Smart Container is a marine shipping container, which is fitted with an installed smart monitoring device. This use case is focused on equip the assets to get an end to end visibility solution for cargo owners to track shipments position, temperature and condition in real-time. The smart container physical reliable data will be key enabler to enhance supply chain performance with data-driven decisions. In addition, this will help prevent shipments disruption with configurable alerts and notifications.
The second one is focused on the integration of a Port Management System with the DataPorts platform. The chosen one is the Posidonia Port Solutions software, owned by a partner of the project called Prodevelop, that is a suite whose modules can be deployed separately or together and cover the vast majority of a Port Authority’s management processes.
NTUA is the oldest and most prestigious technical university in Greece. It was founded in 1837 and has since been contributing to the progress of the engineering science in Greece. The University comprises nine departments, each one covering a different aspect of the engineering field. The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens is well known in Greece and abroad for the research achievements of its faculty members and the good reputation of its students and alumni. The Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) is a research organisation associated with the School of ECE and has about 40 laboratories and research units presently active which are established by the implementation of several structural programmes. The Distributed, Knowledge and Media Systems Group (DKMS), is a research laboratory operating under ICCS.
The Valenciaport Foundation for Research, Promotion and Commercial Studies of the Valencia region (Valenciaport Foundation) is a private non-profit research centre created in 2004 through an agreement between the most representative associations and companies of the Valencia logistics-ports community and various institutions of the Valencia region, all of which are involved in logistics and maritime transport. The Valenciaport Foundation team is composed of R&D&I specialists and engineers in the fields of digital transformation, ICT, industrial, maritime and intermodal transport, logistics and transport economics. The Valenciaport Foundation manifests an R&D&I centre of excellence that not only undertakes its own academic research but also serves as a tool at the service of all agents involved in the transport and logistics chain and particularly within the maritime, port and transport domains, these being key competitive elements buttressing the internationalisation process of Spanish companies. On top of the activities linked to research and training, the Valenciaport Foundation also carries out international cooperation projects focused on the optimal and integrated development of transport, logistics and ports located in third countries.
TRAXENS was created with the vision that multimodal container industry could make huge gains in efficiency, service, and protection of the planet if every company and every person in the supply chain has the right information at the right time. Any solution created to fulfil this vision had to be designed for massive deployment. TRAXENS delivers the world’s most exhaustive, precise and timely information on containers and container transporters allowing all stakeholders in multi-modal transport to improve costs, optimize investment, and offer premium services. To attain this performance TRAXENS led a 3-year R&D program to develop specific technology required to produce cost effective, durable and autonomous devices for a wide range of container data capture and real-time transmission of this data from anywhere on the globe. TRAXENS works with industry leaders to create advanced technical standards with the objective of taking the entire shipping industry to new levels of productivity. CMA CGM and MSC are minority shareholders and are deploying TRAXENS solution across their container fleets starting early 2017.
NTT Data Spain (https://es.nttdata.com) is a large ICT Company and part of the NTT DATA group, that offers its clients comprehensive business solutions covering all aspects of the value chain, from business strategy to systems implementation. From a business perspective, NTT DATA Spain covers actions in economic sectors such as Industry, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Public Sector, Utilities, Insurance, Media, Telecom or Banking. NTT Data also counts on with several technological key lines, such as AI, Cybersecurity, blockchain, IoT or Cloud. It is active on EU undertaking a wide range of innovative activities, such as technological developments, pilots implementations, industry reports and surveys, business plans, commercialisation and exploitation programs, integration developments and coordination management. As a result, the company gathers experts on projects management, preparation and implementation of business and exploitation plans, software development and dissemination, as well as a wide range of technological knowledge, put at the innovation activities disposal.
The Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) is one of the largest research centres in Greece. It was founded in 2000 and is located in Thessaloniki, Greece. The mission of CERTH is to promote the triplet Research – Development – Innovation by conducting high quality scientific research and developing innovative products and services while building strong partnerships with industry (national and international) and strong collaborations with research centres and universities in Greece and abroad.
The Information Technologies Institute (ITI) was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organisation under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Greek Ministry of Development, with its head office located in Thessaloniki, Greece. Since 10/03/2000 it is a founding member of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) also supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT). CERTH/ITI is one of the leading Institutions of Greece in the fields of Informatics, Telematics and Telecommunications, with long experience in numerous European and national R&D projects. It is active in a large number of application sectors (energy, buildings and construction, health, manufacturing, robotics, (cyber)security, transport, smart cities, space, agri-food, marine and blue growth, water, etc.) and technology areas such as data and visual analytics, data mining, machine and deep learning, virtual and augmented reality, image processing, computer and cognitive vision, human computer interaction, IoT and communication technologies, navigation technologies, cloud and computing technologies, distributed ledger technologies (blockchain), (semantic) interoperability, system integration, mobile and web applications, hardware design and development, smart grid technologies and solutions and social media analysis.
