AI is transforming transportation at sea, on land and in the air. It has the potential to cut human error, make operations faster and cut emissions. However, AI itself is one part of a broader process to digitise and improve port operations.

AI as a concept began in the financial and services sector as a way of improving sales, trading and, latterly, customer service techniques.

One way this improves operations is by building a decision-making support system based on a predictive model of behaviour.

It uses deep learning techniques to analyse data in a far more efficient way than a human ever could.

As well as historical data, this could also include image and voice recognition.

This part of the above-mentioned process is called Machine Learning (ML), which you could call the ‘engine’ of AI. Currently, AI is used for predictive maintenance of port equipment or for optimization of automated cranes, in this way, cranes are able to load and stack loads more efficiently in ways that improve container availability for trucks on an as-needed basis.