Laboratory Port Technologies

Measurement technology and sensors

The automation of logistical processes and other activities in ports, such as inspections, requires the use of various sensor systems. These are either stationary on the terminal site or integrated into transport and handling equipment. For example, the sensors ensure the precise localisation of transport vehicles or the reliable detection of objects such as obstacles, cargo and people.

The port technology laboratory at the Fraunhofer CML has high-precision measurement technology for evaluating the performance of sensors. For example, our motion capture system enables the localisation of moving objects with millimetre precision and thus provides a reliable reference for determining the localisation accuracy of horizontal transport vehicles at terminals. We offer manufacturers of transport and handling equipment, automation systems and terminal operators the opportunity to use our measurement technology to test and validate various sensor systems and relevant software concepts in a laboratory environment without risk.

Robotics control centre

Robotics applications are already established technologies in many domains. Despite a challenging working environment, the first projects are also underway in the harbour environment. In the future, robots will drive automation and realise transport and manipulation tasks as well as inspections.

Researchers in the harbour technology laboratory at the Fraunhofer CML are already working on such implementations.

Mission control and monitoring is carried out by a dedicated control centre system, which was implemented based on the VDA 5050 standard. This enables faster and more reliable integration of new applications. For our customers, we offer the design, simulation and development of customised algorithms and robotics applications.