The South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has reported that a group of researchers have successfully developed technology for three-dimensional (3D) inspection of container cargo that would greatly reduce processing time and cost.
The Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering has claimed to be the first facility in the world to develop the technology after nearly nine years of study totalling US$22.36 million in research funding.
The 3D system is claimed to cut inspection times down to one-tenth of what is required by completing the task in a single view as 2D devices currently used in the industry need separate horizontal and vertical checks.
The ministry has estimated that the time to process 640,000 TEU of annual exports to the US will be shortened by 90,000 hours with a manpower cost reduction of an estimated US$500,000.
Eom Ki-doo, Head of the ministry's Shipping and Logistics Bureau, told Yonhap News Agency: “We will be installing the inspection machines on-site after seven months of functional tests and verifications.
“We will make efforts to gain market competitiveness and make the machines a key export product.”
The discussion around emerging technological development in the automation and training sectors of the port industry will take place at PTI's Terminal Automation & Training C-Level Networking Conference 2017.
