Port connectivity

With the charge toward automation and the unrelenting need for a constant flow of goods, Rajant looked at how to successfully manage and eradicate risks such as security, interference and hindered reliability in seaport and terminal environments.

A recognised expert for mission-critical networks in challenging industrial markets, Rajant CEO Robert Schena highlighted the correlation between data security and the quality of the network during his keynote speech, when he addressed industry leaders in a talk titled, ‘How important is your data to you’.

“Ports are using technology to create better situational awareness, reduce losses and damage, and provide a speedy first response when security issues do occur,” Schena commented. “With seaports from Abu Dhabi to Louisiana implementing drones and IP video surveillance devices, the number of interconnected devices, cameras and sensors is fast-growing, but this also increases the need to secure and authenticate the communication traffic moving in, out and around the network.”

Schena explained how, while many are realising the importance of selecting wireless over fixed networks, traditional Wi-Fi networks and LTE suffer from limitations and connectivity challenges which can create several risks. In the event of loss of communication, even for a few microseconds, data sent from personnel or port equipment would be at best delayed, but often completely lost.

Rajant Kinetic Mesh networks, said to be the only fully mobile and mission-critical network on the market today, use InstaMesh in concert with BreadCrumb nodes to dynamically make peer-to-peer connections, leveraging multi-frequency radios. These wireless nodes can be interchangeably fixed or mobile, and dynamically adapt to self-optimize as environmental conditions change, providing a highly reliable and secure network with no single point of failure. By deploying Rajant’s ruggedised multi-radio BreadCrumb nodes, equipped with InstaMesh networking software, directly onto a port asset – be it a vehicle, quay crane, camera pole or drone – it essentially turns the asset into a network node.