HHLA Sky, a subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, and the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) have signed a comprehensive technology partnership to enable the use of automated drones in the Port of Hamburg area.
HHLA Sky has developed a technological control centre and launched it on the global market, which can be used to control and monitor drones, among other things.
With the help of this technology, promising solutions could be found for logistical, sensory or coordinative processes, according to the German company.
Jens Meier, CEO of the HPA pointed out the benefits of this technology, "If storm surges, accidents or other unforeseen incidents occur, flying, swimming or self-propelled robots are on site much faster to provide high-resolution video and photo material for an accurate picture of the situation and this gain in time can be decisive in an emergency."
In addition, they make the maintenance and expansion of the port infrastructure much more efficient, for example in the case of facilities that are very difficult to access, take a lot of time or are dangerous, according to Meier.
With HHLA Sky's solution, all connected processes are mapped and controlled securely, according to Matthias Gronstedt, the company's managing director."
In addition, the HPA can use mobile and teleoperated sensors to collect a wide variety of data, the analysis of which helps to use resources optimally," pointed out Gronstedt.
The HPA applications are networked as part of the technology partnership, which means that previously complex processes can be streamlined and devices can be operated more efficiently.
"The next phase of product development for our new service Drone-as-a-Service is on its way with this partnership," pointed out Phanthian Zuesongdham, head of Division Port Process Solution at HPA, who added that the two parties will start this year the pilot operation of it.
