Leo PortalBeginning early next year ( 2024 ), the Port of Virginia in the US anticipates having autonomous trucks operating on a private 5G network there. The port now has a brand-new private 5G network from Verizon Business that uses radio and core network infrastructure from Swedish vendor Ericsson and operates in high-band millimeter wave ( mmWave ) spectrum. The technology’s” safety and viability” will be demonstrated in the original scope. Small, controlled groups of trucks traveling in convoys from the ports to nearby warehouses will ultimately replace this.
According to Ericsson in a blog post, the novel personal 5G network, which was unveiled in July of last year,” sets the foundation” for many “future smart- ports technologies.” The article quotes senior vice president of technology and projects at Virginia International Terminals, Rich Ceci.” Our vision has evolved from the “science experiment phase” of an intelligent truck experiment into something where we might replace all of our Wi-Fi with a 5G network.” We believe that 5G could be considered a single, all-inclusive solution that does it all.
In order to provide more coverage and capacity for new IoT apps, US ports are also considering additional spectrum options in the shared CBRS band ( 3.55- 3.7 GHz ) and mid-band ( 4. 7 to 4. 2 ), according to Ericsson. In the Port of Rotterdam, where it replaced 50 Wi-Fi access points with two biological radios and two antenna masts, it writes,” More area with less equipment.” Future private 5G for IoT cases include “enhanced differential GPS, tablets in challenging working environments, and push-to-talk ( PTT )”
According to Ericsson, the Port of Virginia now plans to add a second terminal to its 5G network to support PTT and other unspecified “mission critical communications.” According to the blog, “mentality” among switch officials has changed “from a pilot phase to how… [to] benefit ongoing operations.” ” The Port of Virginia sees private and nbsp, 5G… as important to future proof operations and keep the port ahead of the technology curve,” it states. The blog of the Port of Virginia’s personal tech leadership receives a lot of attention.  ,
According to a quote from Ericsson’s director of business development for logistics and transportation in North America, Adam Schipper,” Innovation is based on skill, never talent.” And it is simple to see why the team is leading the way as America’s most contemporary gateway after seeing them put that skill to use. A federal grant to US ports in 2020 to look into how to accommodate autonomous trucks entering shipping and logistics environments gave rise to the Virginia trucking project. The port was motivated by the money to investigate how to control autonomous trucks on the property as well.
The blog points out that the trucking industry is in a “bullish” mood regarding autonomous vehicles, and that this is currently permitted in some areas of the intrastate. Lack of drivers and technological advancement have more increased momentum. The Port of Virginia now had 50 miles of fiber cable supporting intelligent cranes, cameras for vehicle checks, and autonomous kiosks at its entrances and exits by the time personal 5G was being discussed as a way to extend autonomous trucking onto its premises.
According to Ericsson, its plans to introduce expansive IoT projects and nbsp, including” things like automatic vehicles, inventory tracking, and more,” had now failed with Wi-Fi. The port required a network that could handle high-and-growing data volumes across its IT infrastructure and was “dedicated, stable, and reliable.” As the story goes, there was only one choice. Simply put, private mobile networks are what will make future intelligent ports possible, according to Ericsson. According to Ericsson, the infrastructure foundation was previously in place.  ,
According to Ericsson,” Managers wanted to make sure they had a network that could handle the requirements like real-time command and control decisions to ensure the autonomous trucks could operate carefully with manned vehicles working in the same area.” As safety use cases play a significant role in the success of the private 5G mobile network deployment, trusting the network’s dependability is an important factor, not just for operational efficiency but also to keep workers secure.
