Santos Brasil port operator expands use of digital twins, IoT and Starlink

Brazilian port operator Santos Brasil, one of the largest in Latin America, is increasing investments in digital transformation through projects involving digital twins, IoT, machine learning and Starlink satellite connections.

The company, which French multinational CMA CGM acquired approximately 48% of in September, committed at least 55mn reais (US$10mn) to new technologies between 2023 and 2025. 

In an interview with BNamericas at the end of last year, the group's technology director, Ricardo Miranda, said that the company invested approximately 60mn reais annually in digital transformation and “pure” technology, such as systems and data. 

Of the 55mn reais in ongoing investments, approximately 36mn reais are earmarked for digital, operational and data technologies and 19mn reais for the infrastructure to support these technologies, most of which are executed in the cloud, the company said in a statement. 

Santos Brasil has a hybrid strategy, that is, part of its data is kept in-house, on its own servers, and part in the cloud. Regarding the cloud, the company adopted the solution of a "hyperscale datacenter with high-speed connections to public clouds" and software-defined data network (SD-WAN). This cloud provider was not revealed, but market sources told BNamericas it is Oracle.

The main SDN solution is being provided by VeloCloud, a company bought by VMWare.

“This new network technology provides greater flexibility and scalability, fine-grained data flow management and multiple telecommunications providers, working simultaneously with radio, cable and low-orbit satellite,” the statement said.

The low-orbit satellite provider contracted by Santos Brasil is Starlink. 

Overall, Santos Brasil was expected to make investments of around 1.5bn reais in expansions and modernizations by 2030.

Santos Brasil operates five sea terminals, three of which are container terminals: Tecon Santos (Santos port in São Paulo state), Tecon Vila do Conde (Barcarena port in Pará) and Tecon Imbituba (Imbituba port in Santa Catarina), as well as the TCG Imbituba general cargo terminal (Imbituba, Santa Catarina) and TEV, an exclusive vehicle-handling terminal at Santos port.

In the third quarter of 2024, the company invested 154mn reais in its operations, up from 111mn reais in the same period last year. Year-to-September, investments amounted to 357mn reais, an increase of 10.6% year-on-year.

3D

Santos Brasil implemented a 3D warehouse system at the Santos customs industrial and logistics center, which operates in an integrated manner with Tecon Santos and provides customs and special cargo storage services, as well as kit assembly, labeling, picking and inventory management.

The technology shows occupancy and movement of space in real time and provides cargo information. Using a computer, it is possible to view the warehouse in a virtual reality format, based on a 3D visual representation, said the company.

At the same customs complex, the company adopted IoT to monitor the temperature of refrigerated containers. A magnetized device in each reefer container generates data hourly.

Santos Brasil has used IoT in several other pieces of equipment, such as water meters at Tecon Santos to detect leaks and prevent wasteful consumption, and a fatigue sensor in the terminal's truck fleet.

Digital twins and AI

Santos Brasil is also expanding the use of digital-twin technology at Tecon Santos.

The tool allows for testing of the terminal's performance and future planning in a virtual environment that accurately replicates reality, ensuring greater assertiveness and agility in operations, in addition to guiding investment forecasts, according to the company.

A first model of this innovation has been extended to Tecon Vila do Conde.

Previously, Santos Brasil used digital twins to simulate volumes and machinery virtually provided by US-based specialist Simio.

In the field of AI and algorithms, a machine learning model is currently being trained to make a refined prediction of truck entry at Tecon Santos.

According to the company, it is possible to predict the number of containers that will enter the terminal within hours, enabling planning of the yard in the very short term.

The use of extended reality for container inventory is in the experimental phase, using augmented reality glasses and tablets. 

And the company has also deployed drones in the Santos and Guarujá logistics centers and is using them for asset protection.

Electronic security

In related news, Brazilian firm Avantia won two of four lots in a bidding process held by operator Santos Port Authority to modernize the security of the largest port in Latin America.

"The lots include the installation of state-of-the-art thermal cameras and technological upgrades in strategic and sensitive areas of the port structure, such as the navigation channel and the Alamoa pier, which has a risk classification due to the movement of fuels," Avantia said in a release. 

The implementation began in November and should be completed within six months.

The contract, the values of which were not disclosed, provides for a five-year warranty for the equipment and 12 months for the civil works, with installation deadlines of up to 120 days for lot 1 and 180 days for lot 3.