Walking containers could transform the cargo ocean transport – 200 times faster operations are possible with digital innovations

In 1950s, when cargo containers were standardized to be fitted and set on top of each other, it was a major innovation. It helped speed up the ports’ operations tremendously, as previously the goods and packages were all in different sizes and secured with nets. The next great innovation could be containers that can walk, climb on top of each other, and organize themselves autonomously.

Approximately 60% of cargo containers getting transported back to e.g., China, and then loaded again, are empty. The containers are moved by cranes which operated by humans – a task that requires time and precision. Given the shortage of containers, this is a major problem.

“We have cemented our thinking in that a careful human is always more efficient than a machine – and I think that’s the problem. We have taken it for granted that this is how we always operate ships, ports, and cranes. Why should we not innovate the container itself so that it would not require that kind of harbor infrastructure? How about having the container walk by itself to the ship and utilize all types of motors and capabilities?” says Pasi Hurri, the CEO of BaseN Corporation.

The Finnish technology company BaseN is trailblazing the future of truly sustainable business. Arguably, truly sustainable businesses have possibly not existed in the past 100 years. Digital twins and new ways of innovation are now making a difference.

The man on a mission to educate the world on taking full responsibility on anything that is produced or operated is Pasi Hurri, CEO of BaseN Corporation. The innovator, founder, and chief executive has seen how industrial sustainability cannot only be achieved by setting up recycling operations or repeating old ways of working, but by the integration of digital solutions into production and processes that cover the many incarnations of any material.

It's time to recognize the need for new innovations, digital twins – and robots

Hurri thinks that when it comes to cargo, we should look at the previous innovation and recognize it’s time to innovate again.

“Why should we not innovate the container itself so that it would not require the existing kind of harbor infrastructure? We do have the technology available to innovate so that the containers can be automated and self-organizing. Precisely like we did 50 years ago, we innovate and transform how things always work,” Hurri visions.

According to Hurri, a robot can also be a container with limited capabilities of moving by itself. In terms of software development, this can be designed. The critical thing is to rethink the container’s digital entity right from the beginning.

“We should already have the container’s digital twin. That would give us the software domain to innovate, and then we can look at the hardware requirements in a different light,” Hurri says.

Operations at the harbors could become more sustainable and 200 times faster with digital innovations

But why do we need this innovation of cargo containers? Because of sustainability, Hurri proclaims.

“This sort of innovation would take away a huge amount of unproductive work. It would make the operations 200 times faster because there is always a continuous flow of containers coming and going, not just during the working hours of the skillful crane operators. This is an area waiting for more sustainable and resource-efficient solutions.”

In Hurri’s opinion, we should think why we are using cranes and straddle carriers – are there any other methods we could use? 

“The innovative concepts from the field of software development can pave the road for real innovations, also for enabling sustainable cargo handling and containers. Because right now, the container traffic is far from sustainable. We should always make sure that it makes sense to transport something to avoid transporting empty containers. We should instead digitalize the process to have situational awareness of every single container and to eliminate the senseless transport that is happening now and on masse,” Hurri says.

Related resources:

https://www.basen.net/walking-containers/  

https://www.basen.net/what-is-a-robot/  

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Natalia Reijola

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+358 440 220 596

About BaseN

BaseN is a Finnish technology company, launched and in continuous development since December 2001, providing an extremely scalable, fully distributed, resilient, secure, and combined real-time monitoring and control platform for ICT, M2M, and IoT combined.  

BaseN provides new ways to capture, store, process, analyze, visualize, and control extreme volumes of things and data real-time, which enables next generation digital businesses to greatly improve what they do and how they do it.