AI Port is a research and innovation partnership between TUD and EUR on the use of AI technologies in the port environment. AI Port conducts AI-based, practice-oriented research and innovation in close partnership with local knowledge institutes, business partners, governmental and social organizations, and the Port of Rotterdam industrial cluster. This work will help steer the Port through significant transitions.

These transformations vary from reducing environmental emissions, energy transition, optimizing complex logistics, autonomous shipping and digitalisation of port operations.

AI Port promotes the use of AI technology and data science to tackle these transitions and provides infrastructure and resources to facilitate research activities. The main goals of AI Port are to:

1. Explore current innovation needs
2. Identify valuable AI based research and innovation pathways for the port & maritime cluster
3. Engage with stakeholders on innovation options
4. Provide research community with research materials & infrastructure
5. Establish a dedicated AI Port R&I community

AI Port is envisioned to be a dedicated research center with a physical presence in Rotterdam. (Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics) ECDA at EUR will serve as initial location for AI Port, with an ambition to develop into its own location in time. The AI Port Center represents an important foundation yielding new research projects and collaborations tailored to actual requirements. It acts in close collaboration with co-funding partners and relevant stakeholders aiming for accelerated implementation and adoption of developed AI-solutions to the most urgent problems.

AI Port is a landing place for joint research datasets and have infrastructure in place to take in, share and utilize data, with all necessary safeguards to stakeholders that provide data. Furthermore, AI Port brings together existing port simulation models for research and innovation purposes and supports integration of these models as to make them as readily accessible to researchers as possible.

Directors of the AI Port center are Rudy Negenborn en Rob Zuidwijk and AI Port managers are Tim Meijster and Nicolette Stehouwer-den Hollander.

For questions and more information, please contact:

Nicolette Stehouwer-den Hollander – stehouwer@eur.nl

Tim Meijster – T.Meijster@tudelft.nl

“Enormous potential for AI in the port and logistics sector”

In the report ‘Dream big, start small’ (link), researchers Dirk Koppenol and Hannah Mosmans conclude that there is enormous potential for developing and applying AI in the port.

Based on 3 working sessions with companies and universities, it appears that much is expected of the opportunities that Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers for the port and logistics sectors. For example, it can help to enable “automatic planning” and “strategic forward planning” in the chain. In addition, AI development is reinforced by major (social) developments such as the energy transition, climate change, automation and the aging of the workforce.” Furthermore, the researchers conclude that “the greatest opportunity for collaboration by companies is seen in improving supply chain visibility.” “What is holding back this collaboration is the lack of data sharing, a clear goal and good insight into what the added value of AI applications is for the customer.” According to the latest data from Statistics Netherlands, it appears that only 8% of transport companies in transport and 11% in trading companies use AI technology (2021). There is therefore a lot of work to be done for the port community and universities and the report provides further insights into what the opportunities are and how we can get started with them.

The full report can be downloaded via the link below:

Dream big start small – AI in transport and logistics – AI Port Center