As part of the InteGreatDrones project, we are investigating the extent to which autonomous drone systems can be integrated into inland ports in order to fully monitor the activities and processes of the terminals. On the one hand, the flying sensor network should avoid stationary and expensive sensor infrastructures and, on the other hand, optimise terminal operations.

Multi-purpose terminals in inland ports are characterised by changing types of goods and load fluctuations. Operational processes are subject to constant change and are much more dynamic than in the large seaport terminals. The need for flexible use of land, the lack of standardisation and digitalisation, and the interaction of many players make structured, automated recording of relevant data in terminal operations difficult. This leads to high manual effort, inefficient processes and a lack of traceability.
The InteGreatDrones project addresses this issue and enables the complete recording of processes and activities in the terminal without the need for expensive, fixed sensor infrastructure. By means of autonomously operating drones, image data is continuously captured, which provides information about any activities on site. To preserve the privacy of the actors, the data is pre-processed locally on edge servers and only extracted information is shared. Together with centralised data processing and exploitation, InteGreatDrones thus represents a middleware that integrates data from the drone and inventory systems. Applications can be built on this middleware that offer economic benefits for the terminal operator. As an example, the InteGreatDrones project implements and validates two applications from the terminal's daily routine on the middleware (storage allocation and operation dashboard). In addition, the drone system is used to actively intervene in terminal processes, for example by piloting external drivers on site. As a demonstrator, the InteGreatDrones system thus opens up a digitalised future for port companies and allows for the comprehensive exploitation of digitalisation potentials that have remained unused until now.