China Sees Fruitful 5G Smart Port Achievements

An online press conference focused on 5G combined with unmanned driving-based smart ports was held on May 11, at which 5G-based smart port achievements were released and a working 5G unmanned truck was demonstrated.

The conference was jointly launched by China Mobile Limited (China Mobile), China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited (COSCO SHIPPING Group) and Dongfeng Motor Corporation in Xiamen of South China's Fujian province and Wuhan and Shiyan in Central China's Hubei province, as well as in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

A roadshow of a working 5G unmanned container truck at the Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal was demonstrated during the conference. 

The truck moved to the No.101 and No.102 quay cranes, to pick up containers. It then drove itself into the F1 container yard and completed operations including precise tire hoisting docking and container unloading.

The entire procedure was proof that the first customized unmanned container truck for the port had passed a real operation test.

So far, 98.89 percent of the Port of Xiamen is covered with 5G internet and a 5G-based edge computing and slicing network is under construction. Such 5G applications as driving behavior analysis, unmanned driving and remote control of automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) and port machinery have been realized, which greatly improves efficiency and security of port work.

A jointly-set standard of performance and testing methods for unmanned container trucks at a port was also released at the conference. It was the first of its kind applicable to unmanned driving systems for container trucks.

Also released at the conference were a white paper on implementation of full-service settings for a 5G smart port and the plan and a road map of such a port.

The settings were based on the current situation of the Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal. They applied such technologies as edge computing, high-precise positioning, artificial intelligence and computer vision.

The plan and road map referenced the definition and construction vision of the 5G smart port. They included the overall frame and typical applications at the port. 

According to the documents, the companies intend to set requirements for an integrated intelligent system.

It's worth mentioning that China Mobile, COSCO SHIPPING Group and Dongfeng Motor Corporation signed a letter of intent on further application of 5G for smart ports at the conference, determining to explore smart port supporting applications including unmanned driving, intelligent security protection and shipping block chain technology.

In addition, the three companies will promote research on supporting facility standards and cross-platform technical cooperation to promote 5G smart port technologies elsewhere, which will accelerate connectivity and collaborative development and push forward digitalization of China's ports.

The 5G smart port achievements released at the press conference are a result of the "Broadband China" strategy and the strategy of building China into a country with a strong transportation network.

Next, China Mobile will speed up promotion of 5G new infrastructure construction at the ports to provide more precise and intelligent internet service. It will continue to upgrade 5G smart port operation and business modes.

(Executive editor: Zhang Tianyuan)