Chao News Client Correspondent Feng Jie, Jia Mengjun, Reporter Zhang Yunshan
As the autumn heat intensifies, the ground temperature at Ningbo Beilun Third Container Terminal approaches 50°C. In the past, crane operator Master Lu had to climb up to a cab dozens of meters high, spending eight hours in a space of less than two square meters, enduring high temperatures and loneliness while precisely operating this 'steel giant'.
"It felt like working in a steamer, with sweat flowing from my head to my feet," Master Lu recalled. However, now he sits in a spacious central control room, enjoying the comfort of constant temperature, operating the control handle in front of a display screen, as if playing an immersive game. Through the real-time video transmission of the 5G-A network, he can clearly see every detail of the terminal site and precisely control the gantry crane located a kilometer away.
Master Lu remotely operates the tower crane from the central control room (Photo provided by the interviewee)
"Now it feels like playing a remote game, the labor intensity has greatly decreased, and work efficiency has actually increased, especially in summer, it’s like night and day," Master Lu said with a smile.
This change is the result of a revolutionary transformation brought about by the smart port project jointly developed by China Telecom and Ningbo Chuan Mountain Port.
5G Builds the Smart 'Nervous System' of the Port
Ningbo Telecom has customized a proximity model 5G network for the Beilun Third Container Terminal, establishing dedicated 5G base stations and deploying exclusive UPF, combined with advanced technologies such as three-phase selection and hard slicing, to create an efficient and reliable 5G smart network. This network acts like the 'nervous system' of the port, closely connecting every link and providing a solid foundation for the port's intelligence.
Ningbo Beilun Third Container Terminal (Photo by Zhang Yunshan)
Based on remote control automation technology, AI video technology, and other scenario-based capabilities, it optimizes the overall horizontal and vertical transport operations at the port, further addressing three core issues: transport efficiency, operational environment, and work safety.
Telecom 5G Smart Empowerment, Doubling Port Efficiency
To meet the port's stringent requirements for deterministic networks, ultra-low latency, and high uplink capacity, Ningbo has upgraded the critical application scenarios at the port to a more advanced 5G-A network.
At Beilun Third Container Terminal, out of 172 gantry cranes, 66 have completed digital remote control transformations, achieving over 90% of operations with zero human intervention; another 21 cranes are currently being transformed to allow operators to control three machines simultaneously, effectively increasing the output of individual operations while improving the operator's working environment and clearing personnel from the stacking area.
Ningbo Beilun Third Container Terminal (Photo by Zhang Yunshan)
The millisecond-level low latency and large bandwidth characteristics provided by 5G-A technology are core guarantees for the comprehensive upgrade of the intelligent tally system. It meets the AI video analysis requirements of high-definition cameras at the front end, achieving automation of shore-side tallying and remote operation of tally personnel, significantly improving tallying efficiency.
Intelligent forklifts, utilizing a dedicated 5G-A network and devices such as laser radars, 360° visual cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and infrared sensors, can collect surrounding environmental data in real-time (such as obstacle locations, cargo coordinates, and channel widths) to achieve 'environmental awareness', autonomously completing the closed-loop operation of empty containers from 'task assignment - pathfinding - picking - transporting - stacking - returning'.返回搜狐，查看更多