Advanced platform for environmental sustainability management in the Port of Algeciras

19 November, 2020

Summary:

This project is part of the FIWARE ZONE IoT Challenge and is developed by the start-up HOPU, winner of the challenge entitled “Advanced platform for environmental management and sustainability in the Port of Algeciras” in the 2020 edition.

The scope of the pilot project consists of the development of a solution based on Artificial Intelligence techniques that will allow the integration, standardization and processing of data, both from APBA’s current platforms and from new high quality sensors included in the project, in order to make future forecasts and improve decision making.

This includes the deployment of a network of high-quality, calibrated and certified sensors to monitor and measure environmental impact and water quality in real time. This measurement network consists of 130 sensors in 25 locations, which will measure odors, pollens, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, a weather station and a complete water measurement equipment. In total, more than 200 high-quality, certified, real-time data points, plus additional contextual information such as temperature, humidity, pollution sources and correlation with other environmental parameters.

Subsequently, based on the different air quality, meteorological and water quality data collected, an impact model of the different daily actions carried out in and around the port of Algeciras will be generated, using deep learning techniques such as long and short term memory networks (LSTM) based on recurrent neural networks (RNN), to identify the different anomalies/events that have increased or reduced the impact of these factors on the environment. These models will make it possible to forecast the medium-term impact and support strategies to promote sustainability, providing evidence, indicators and models to support action plans.

Finally, the development of a dashboard for the visualization of indicators related to the environmental impact of the port for private use of the APBA and a public portal for the visualization of indicators for citizens, promoting transparency and communication with the population. Furthermore, thanks to the fact that the data collected by HOPU’s sensors will follow the FIWARE Data Models standard, HOPU will inject the new data collected in the Port of Algeciras into Telefónica’s Thinking Cities platform, thus ensuring the exploitation and use of these data in other environments.

Expected results:

• Obtain real time data about the environmental impact that the port activity has on its surroundings (air and water quality and noise, light and odor pollution).
• To have updated and quality information that supports the decision making process and allows to know the evolution and impact of preventive and corrective measures carried out in the environmental field.
• Identify problems associated with the logistics of the industry that is present within the port area and nearby areas.
• To facilitate the combination of the information obtained with the available models of the physical environment in order to analyze the dispersion of pollutants and their impact on the population and nearby environment.