ESTUAREA

ESTUAREA 5G is an extensive project to improve the safety of maritime transport in the urban environment of the city of Ghent, via a remote navigation system.

The project consists of two important experimental developments. Firstly, equipping a boat A with advanced technology, including cameras, LiDar and object detection algorithms to enable situational awareness and safe remote navigation with 5G along a selected part of Ghent’s city waters. Secondly, the provision of 5G sensor data streams and a safety web service for the sensor boxes developed in the Open Living Lab (infrastructure research).

The infrastructure research aims to set up an Open Living Lab where third parties (universities, research institutions, etc.) can integrate and test their own equipment on a navigation ecosystem with 5G. The project aims to build proof-of-concept sensor boxes, one on boat B and one on shore at a key point. Universities or research institutes can access their raw data and segmented data objects of waterways/banks, which they can request via a public API (online digital twin of the operational environment).

• 5G technology is crucial because of its low latency (essential for real-time response and mission-critical systems), high-speed data transfer (for streaming video feeds) and secure communications.
• Safe transport with 5G offers the city several advantages:
• – Improved safety on waterways: as the boat can detect and respond to potential hazards. The remote system will be designed in such a way that the safety of passengers, other boats and tourists is a priority.
• – Relieving traffic congestion: By introducing remote control boats as an alternative transportation method, the project aims to reduce traffic congestion in the city center.
• – Sustainable transport: the use of electric boats reduces dependence on road transport and contributes to a more sustainable and efficient urban mobility system.
• – Real-time environmental data: the remote canal navigation system provides real-time data on air and water quality and riverbed conditions.
• – Concept validation: the project demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of remotely controlled boats in city canals. This paves the way for wider adoption and implementation in other cities.

The Avatar project focusses on urban freight distribution using inland waterway transport. It aims to investigate technologies to automate and coordinate vessels, and vessel fleets, in corridors between consolidation centres located at 5 to 15 kilometres outside city centres, and city terminals. Furthermore, it aims to develop and deploy zero-emission vessels in this context. The results and insights on fleet coordination, as well as on automated close-encounter maneuvering, can be used in the Living Lab of IW-NET.

The average external cost (congestion, accidents, air pollution, climate, noise,…) for inland waterway transport  (IWT) accounts for 3.9 €cent/tkm, whereas for road transport this is 70% higher [TU Delft, 2018]. However, w.r.t urban freight transport (UFT), vessels (< 300T) are currently not economically viable, already resulting in the demolishment of over 12% of small vessels (CEMT I-II) in the last decade. Crew costs for these vessels account for up to 60% of the total shipping costs. Increased automation will be critically important to ensure a sustainable and economically viable future on this scale.

The AVATAR project aims to tackle those challenges by developing, testing and assessing adequate

technologies and business models for urban autonomous zero-emission IWT. Through this, the project unlocks the economic potential of urban vessels and corresponding waterways, increases available solutions for full-cycle automation and sets up a sustainable supply chain model for urban goods distribution and waste return.