Digital Vision in Smart Ports

Digital Vision is an out-of-the-box visual analytics solution which, in tandem with BT’s 5G network solutions, gives you access to features such as high-resolution cameras and highly advanced analytics. SaaS-based, it can be quickly and easily integrated into most existing camera systems.

Working across all verticals – from transport and logistics and manufacturing to smart places and, more recently, smart ports – the solution offers a range of benefits, including boosting efficiency, enhancing security, and improving health and safety.

Greater safety and efficiency

Unsurprisingly, safety is a key priority for operators of smart ports - and ports in general. As a key application of Digital Vision, it can help to ensure that not only the right PPE is being worn, but that it’s being worn in the correct locations to comply with health and safety legislation.

It can also be used to warn workers who may be straying into dangerous areas or alert operators to potential hazards such as spillages or smoke. By adding cameras to buildings, vehicles and equipment, there are real opportunities to improve upon health and safety - even small additions like this can make a considerable difference.

Such capabilities are important not only to the safety of a port’s workforce, but also to its bottom line. 36.8 million days were lost due to work-related illnesses and workplace injuries in the UK in 2021/22, with 61,713 injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR regulations. By reducing the risk of such injuries, Digital Vision can save on both the human and financial cost of time missed due to accidents.

It can also be used to increase a smart port’s efficiency. Many ports will have a guard at the gate, so when a truck arrives, the guard will manually note its registration number and point the driver towards their destination. But with Digital Vision, local ANPR can automatically register the vehicle, and digital signage or a printed docket will direct the driver onwards, saving time and freeing up employees to be more efficient and productive.

It can benefit freight forwarders, too. Simple ANPR-based decision-making can allow them to understand a truck’s turnaround time, which can then be factored into their scheduling. And with Digital Vision supporting and alerting them to areas of concern, a port’s security control team can have a visible presence on-site, rather than being confined to a portacabin.

Put simply, the solution opens up a much wider world of capabilities beyond simple surveillance.

Using data for good

The collection and analysis of data in real time is at the core of Digital Vision. Extracting metadata from the solution and feeding into its IoT platform will allow an organisation to make better, more informed decisions. The more date you have, the better your decisions and their outcomes will be.

Importantly, BT doesn’t just collect data. We cleanse it, interpret it, and present it in a way that is usable for our customers at a point where they can usually consume it, allowing them to enjoy greater safety and efficiency benefits such as those outlined above.

But, as with any technology that involves visual recognition and the collection of potentially personal data, privacy can be a concern. Mindful about such sensitivities, we worked closely with our legal and ethical teams when designing the solution to ensure that any data it captured would only be used for good, thereby aligning it with our principles and values. So, while Digital Vision is entirely capable of facial recognition, using it to establish a person’s identity is simply not part of the solution.

The future of Digital Vision lies in more than the solution working independently; it’s about greater integration with IoT applications. It can be integrated with an existing security system, for example, enhancing it and extending its lifetime. It can even work with old analogue cameras, as long as the camera is still able to see.

Digital Vision is more than just a visual analytics solution. BT’s unique position in the ecosystem – with our 5G capabilities, IoT platform, deep partnerships across industry, and a wealth of global experience and technical expertise – makes Digital Vision a key part of an organisation’s digital transformation, providing additional insights into your business, and moving from reactive to proactive decision making and optimisation.