5G ESTUAREA
5G-Enabled remote and Safe Transportation in Urban AREA
We present a comprehensive project aiming at experimenting the enhancement of safety of maritime transportation in the urban environments of the city of Ghent through a remote navigation system.
The project has two main experimental developments. First, 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 the Ghent city water canals. Second, provision of 5G sensor data streams, and of a safety web service for the sensor boxes developed in the Open living Lab (infrastructure research).
The infrastructure research project aims to enable an Open living Lab to 3rd parties (universities, research institutions, etc.) where they can bring/integrate and test their own devices on a 5G enabled navigation ecosystem. The project aims to build proof-of-concept sensor boxes, one on boat B, and one for the shoreline at a critical point where raw data, as well as segmented waterway/shoreside objects, can be shared (or published) and requested via public API (online digital twin of operational environment) with any university, research institution looking for those data.
The use of 5G technology is crucial due to its low latency (essential for real-time response and Mission-Critical systems), high data transfer rate (for streaming video feeds), and secure communication capabilities.
The 5G-enabled safe transportation offers several advantages for the city of Ghent:
- Improved Safety in waterways: by enabling the boat to detect and respond to potential hazards. The remote system will be designed to prioritize the safety of passengers, other boats, and tourists.
- Traffic Relief: By introducing remote controled boats, the project aims to alleviate congestion in the city center by providing an alternative mode of transportation.
- Sustainable transportation: the project will reduce the reliance on road-based transportation and will contribute to a more sustainable and efficient urban mobility system through electrical boats.
- Real-time environmental data: the remote canal navigation system will provide real-time data on air and water quality, as well as riverbed conditions.
- Concept Validation: demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of remote boats in city canals, paving the way for wider adoption and implementation in other cities.