The Age of Integration: Maritime SMART Cargo

There is a larger focus on several key areas to create more resilient means of operations and logistics within the MARITIME Industry. With the industry clocking in at $14T and CO2 Emissions far exceeding 1B tons per year, there is a lot at stake if we do not innovate collectively to build the resilience needed to grow to new heights and solve the problems that are deeply rooted in the industry.

What is the large plan globally?

There are many plans in place around the world including Rotterdam, Port of Hamburg, Antwerp, Singapore and Shanghai that in many cases container a digital twin, terminals filled with IoT hardware sensors both integrated in vehicles and ground, and are leveraging some of the best technology in the world. Many Maritime industry segments are laser focused on reducing CO2 Emissions by 55% no earlier than 2030, and an overall target of 2050 to have completed many bench marks in the industry as a whole.

With that being said, there are some large gaps within the maritime industry that need to be closed in order to truly automate and optimize the logistics chain and ensure robust stability against volatile contractions in the market and anomaly sways caused by environmental conditions both at sea and for countries that harvest and distribute goods or manufacture products on a global front.  

RAIL AND TRUCKS

Another key area lies within the transport of the cargo via rail and trucks. The advancement and release of all electric fleets of trucks will tremendously expedite the electrification of all maritime endeavors. Similar to the automotive industry, soon all means of transport that are built will be sustainably driven with alternate green fuel sources that curb CO2 emissions and allow for a cleaner form of transport to match Port Acceptance criteria. Rail is being redefined by companies such as Parallel systems who are building situationally aware and fully autonomous segmented rail cars that fuel a more efficient network of cargo exchange in the rail system.

AUTONOMOUS AND ELECTRIFIED SHIPS

Autonomous ships with alternate fuels and the electrification of the vessel are well underway with pilot tests already underway in many portions of the world and fleets being developed and scheduled for deployment. As fuel prices continue to rise, we can expect many more fleets to be retrofitted for alternative fuels to curb the CO2 emissions and cut costs on fuel expense. In addition, new ships deployed will eclipse the older ones ushering in a new smarter fleet that is far more capable with far great responsiveness such as the super ships being developed by Rolls Royce, Google and Intel.  

Energy harvesting, collection and distribution on a vessel is becoming more important each month that passes as emissions rise and the cost of fuel continues to surge. Sustainable sources of fuel that have taken large investments, development, and in some cases deployment include hydrogen, advanced wind powered ships, solar and ammonia.

Globally, we are innovating fast, some areas a light speed and others not so much, but there is a trend that there needs to be a unified piece of technology to ties it all together, that each ship, each port, and each country can directly communicate with in Realtime to integrate all these technological advancement as we share containers with one another from port to port.

What drives much of the Maritime technology boom?

The advancement and battery energy-cell concentration and more efficient hardware requiring very little energy to operate are driving the hardware portion of IoT development and deployment. In addition, the roll out of the 5G network over the last few years has helped to allow microprocessors the opportunity to move data faster than every before, allowing near real time capabilities of features such as telematics and integrated data points.

Although we still face some serious challenges in the shortage of manufacturing silicon semiconductors chips and microprocessors given the high demand and limited facilities globally that can produce, we still have a fair shot of building some incredible networks that are driven by 5G and eventually 6G infrastructure. Currently the primary provider of the chips lies in the hands of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is the world's largest and most valuable semiconductor manufacturer. The expertise they have amassed over the past 20 years and the facilities developed are the most advanced in the world, and nearly impossible to duplicate given the complexity and advancements made internally. Samsung and UVMC along with Global Foundries and Intel follow behind respectively.

Even with the amazing gains over the last 20 years in the Maritime Industry, there have been some significant losses that have shaken the industry and causes much concern to improve the security and stability of the logistics chain. Covid most recently brought to light some of those challenges showing the Realtime issues that obsolete ports are facing, and their lack of innovation that is now costing heavily on the Maritime Operations and slowing the movement of cargo creating large bottlenecks and keeping ships at sea longer than scheduled, driving backlog and losing product on a daily basis.

The development and now magnified view of these dilemmas have also driven maritime technology to receive a boom in investment and to look for the brightest and most promising concepts that can provide immediate aid and long-term stability. There are many approaches being funded to curb the problems highlighted, but some are mere mirages. Will software be one of them?

Why a ’Software only’ approach will lose.

Although ADHERE GEAR is focused heavily on software development and deployment, we recognize that in order for quality software to have a profound and lasting impact that it must include strong hardware development as a part of its thesis. This is evident in any major product deployment ranging from google products, amazon, Samsung, Apple and many other notable examples of tandem development and deployment. Even google had to develop and deploy robust server storage on a massive level to accommodate all the data collection, hardware never seen by the average user, but heavily needed in order to secure success. Point blank, Data is hardware driven.

There is a blind cloak in many areas of the MARITIME Industry assuming software can dramatically improve the Maritime Industry and drive it to a higher level of resiliency. This artificially stimulates valuations of maritime enterprise software providers. Software has been deployed for several decades now in the industry, and its height has been reached. The only way software can be effective is with a high level of investment and sophisticated deployment of hardware to allow for real and discoverable data to be collected, analyzed and wirelessly distributed based on relevance and need. Processing existing data sets tied to older hardware will limit the scale and scope of discovery that can occur in solving some of the hard challenges being faced in the industry. Hardware retrofit kits for existing fleets, ports, and trucks is critical to being able to create a working network to build a robust IoT network on for Maritime Cargo and Logistics. Its also critical in order to successfully scale into zero emissions industry with green logistics at the helm. The industry will not become a SMART industry overnight, but rather several decades and with transitional technology playing a role to allow novel and completed new versions the opportunity to reach production and scale over several decades to infiltrate and become status quo and industry standard.

All previous networks including the introduction of the computer, the laptop, tablet, and phone were all driven by hardware which allowed for a software network to germinate and grow into what we see today. The same holds true for the Maritime Industry. In order for what we call, the Age of Integration to occur within the Maritime Industry, robust hardware must be introduced to collect the known and more importantly unknown data to generate novel solutions to deeply rooted problems.

Although software is easier to deploy, it has a shorter shelf life if hardware is not deployed hand in hand and both upgraded sequentially to allow for growth and improvement to be implemented. The most robust deployment is hardware with software. More importantly is engineering the hardware to be easily accessible, upgradeable, and with expansion packs to compliment direct over the air software upgrades and advanced forms of software to supersede obsolete versions.

The greatest innovations in the age of integration and the dawn of telematics and integrated data solutions will be driven not by software on vessels, ports or containers, but rather the introduction of them together driven by hardware integrations. This is apparent in the new fleet of ships being developed such as the Rolls Royce, Google and Intel smart vessel development project, or the almost completed super port in Singapore that will include the latest hardware to match sophisticated software to drive autonomous port operations.

Those that can engineer for the now and the future simultaneously will be the leaders of this race in the Maritime Industry. A smart cargo network engineered for existing, and future is key.

The need for a SMART Cargo Network.

 SMART Cargo is not a new idea nor novel, but it is the first time in our history where it is now can be deployed on a widespread and scalable manner, creating remarkable opportunities for solving some of the fundamental problems that plague the maritime industry along with new growth opportunities for existing as well as new players. But this window of opportunity will not be open forever. Currently, with a few exceptions at various what we call super ports, the industry logistics and operations is still fragmented in its automation and means of optimization, dated infrastructure and obsolete software and computers. Most have stalled out on their maximum efficiency rate and require complete overhauls in order to compete and even still will have small likely hood of even be competitive but will rather fill in a voided gap to ensure the logistic chain stays intact and fluid.

In order to efficiently and effectively move cargo at the new levels of demand, and beyond, a more sophisticated approach leveraging IoT technology, interconnected devices, and 5G network-controlled connectivity is required to optimize the data and generate strong metrically driven solutions. These solutions can be tested in Realtime, and results measured same day to test against prior results, allowing for rapid problem solving and advancement of onsite and vessel operations, along with freight forwarding and remote logistics.

A smart cargo network is one of the last remaining pieces to allow for a SMART network to arise within a highly mechanized and industrious market. With demand steadily climbing year over year, and vessels getting larger and becoming energy efficient either in new deployment or retrofit, the maritime industry must look at cargo and see how it can complement the trajectories of interconnected autonomous truck fleets, autonomous rail, network-controlled crane and dolly operations, unmanned loading and unloading of containers, along with autonomous vessel navigation in and out of ports from one country to the next.  All these technologies being rolled out will require a strong technological sense within the cargo itself, ensuring safety, security, and protection of the assets contained within and without. By doing so, this will dramatically increase flow of cargo container traffic, expedite the processing of goods at port check-in and screening, and securing new blankets of safety increasing situational awareness by an order of magnitude or more.

Software can not provide this service, but paired with hardware, a resilient supply chain can be grown from the existing fleets of vessels and cargo containers that have already been deployed.

Adhere Gear is developing technology to expedite port screening of goods within seconds, allowing them to be cleared prior to entry with transparency of goods being transferred. All supported with a matrix of data points that can be processed for container fleets as they enter and exit terminal operations.

Another point that must be made in relation to cargo, is that space exploration will demand the deployment of smart cargo in a controlled network in order to create a reliable and robust supply chain and guarantees the safety and security of assets from one mode of transit to the next. Our existing supply chain will welcome its newest member which will be large scale rocketry, deploying large payloads and delivering payloads that will be integrated into our existing transit network including truck, rail, sea, and plane.

Space exploration will continue to significantly drive technologically advancements that will not only have a trickledown effect but will allow for the progress bar in industries such as Maritime to be raised much higher to accommodate the forms of cargo that will be required to be moved in masses.

Building a robust SMART IoT Network takes decades but complimenting existing refrigerated cargo containers with infused intelligence and IoT situation awareness will significantly improve the odds of being well positioned for a smarter and greener cargo network.

What are the advantages to A SMART cargo network?

Like any network, communications become far more superior allowing for containers to communicate amongst one another, pinging and sharing data between them to improve the overall flow and allowing data to become metrics and then comparable to make situational changes.

Illumination identification can also become a huge factor to dramatically improve safety of operations and security of the cargo. Being able to quickly identify networked containers by origin, cargo type, destination, errors, change in transit or maintenance are very powerful features only achievable through a network overlay.

A network interface on each container also allows for virtual identification and imprint of many pertinent documents, history and logs tied with each respective cargo container. In addition, this improves the logistics involved in moving cargo in and out of port screening, not only expediting the speed at which cargo can be screened, but also the volume, building a more secure logistic chain from one country to the next.

Identifying, isolating, and mitigating bottle necks and moments of friction for any container type is critical to making improvements in logistics and ultimately operations. Currently, many ports are overpopulated, with large portions of cargo building up and taking up valuable real-estate at ports.  By interconnecting them, we can quickly decide which continue their journey, and which need to be pulled due to spoilage, poor conditions for the product, or total loss tying directly to insurance coverage and claims.

Another benefit to a network is complete situational awareness onboard a container that can quickly allow not only cargo to be robustly secure but allow for monitoring of cargo for various conditions and states of change, giving a far more precise knowing of its condition far beyond that of humidity and temperature. This ensures the means and methods of how cargo is moved throughout it journey and can pinpoint moments of contention when trends arise from similar circumstances. Trend capture and review is a powerful tool. Situational awareness pairs well with environmental control giving a complete 360-degree view of all aspects internally and externally for cargo.

Contagion and chemical and biological tracking are a huge value and befit to a hardware driven software network for containers. Anomalies such as COVID can be widely traced and avoided within a SMART Network curbing volatility and providing much needed stability within the Maritime Industry. Isolation of cargo container due to original, container type, and content type can all be achieved with a smart cargo network.

There are many other benefits with very little cons to the deployment of a smart cargo network for existing containers. The weight of doing nothing at all and relying on only software to solve the problems is not only limited, but also terminal as the demand and dependency on the cargo grows each year.

So, what is ADHERE GEAR stance and position?

ADHERE GEAR has been diligently developing a network-controlled fleet of smart cargo containers driven by telematics to create integrated logistics opportunities. The refrigerated cargo container, or REEFER, is a highly valued asset with a range of $200K to $2M+ of product inside let alone the numismatic value contained within the container itself.

We are deploying a 5G Network controlled platform for refrigerated cargo containers with strong expansion capability for all cargo containers. We are a B2B company deploying enterprise software that is driven by a hardware retrofit kit for cargo containers to be brought online. Our focus is on capturing and distributing telematic and integrated logistics data. This allows for the automation of cargo containers while optimizing the data that is captured to improve logistics and operations. Less than 5 min installation per container bringing the container online within seconds.

Our retrofit kit and our SaaS cargo container platform allows for telematic and integrated logistics to be derived, computed, and distributed to key stake holders within cold chain logistics ensuring resiliency and robust positioning. Why is this valuable?

Cold chain logistics moves 120M tons of cargo each year, critically tied to pharmaceuticals and medications, meat and dairy, vegetables, fruit, and electronics. Temperature controlled cargo is the future of all containers, guaranteeing higher odds of successful transit and ensuring the product is 100% intact during its journey. Cold chain logistics exemplifies the strong need for and importance of climate control and a more robust cargo container with high valued assets as they travel from one countries climate to another. Currently shipping and logistics is a $1.3T dollar segment within Maritime, with cold chain logistics valued at $120B and growing at a rapid pace per year. With existing fleets being between 6% and 20% cold cargo, that percentage although smaller than the remaining segments, are much more valuable than its counterparts.  

With shipping cold cargo with a range of $15K to upwards of $25K per container, it is no surprise that they are the most elite form of container on the market moving some of the most valuable assets. A refrigerated container can make upwards of $4.5M+ per container in its lifetime, making these refrigerated cargo boxes that cost >$40K on production line, a strong area for investment and advancement. With increased demand, cargo content values being tripled, and increased rate to ship goods rising, it is now more than ever imperative to leverage technology to ensure the cargo arrives intact, secured and safe given the sheer value and expenditure now built into the cargo.

We are strongly positioned for the Age of integration, leveraging 5G deployment and the eventual 6G, along with the dawn of Internet of things connectivity and communications between onboard devices within the Maritime Industry. We believe strongly in the dual development of hardware and software to maximize the effectiveness of deployment and allow for strong growth and ease of serviceability and dependency. We believe a smart cargo network and a resilient Maritime Industry will continue to be built on the foundation of big data, and the eventual deployment of AI to curb many of the growing issues within maritime. We are building the technology to meet these needs and facilitate solutions that can grow and expand with the market while bringing stability to many portions of the supply chain when it comes to the cargo itself. Maritime cargo is nothing more than a giant game of Tetris, and we are advancing the game to a higher level of efficiency.

Our 5-year target is to deploy a 100% sustainable all electric hybrid fleet of refrigerated cargo containers fully equipped with situational awareness and environmental control to supersede expiring fleets.  We look to strategically eliminate all CO2 emissions of refrigerated cargo. To get us there, we are deploying 5G network controlled retrofit kits for existing fleets to be brough online and take advantage of the existing telematic data to drive integrated logistics for the next 10 years for those existing investments.

If interested in knowing more about ADHERE GEAR products, interested in being a part of our pilot testing, partnerships, or pursue any investment opportunities, feel free to reach out to us via linked in or at our website at www.adheregearPODPAQ.com Feel free to watch and share our story below in the short YouTube video, it's worth watching.

Author: Robert E. Buchanan Jr.

Founder and CEO Adhere Gear Technology Corp.