Development of a mobile application for passenger information at the Algeciras Port

Summary:

The project is based on the development of a mobile application, proper of the Algeciras Bay Port Authority (APBA), focused on complementing its communication channels and providing, in real time, relevant information of the Port of Algeciras, which will be useful, not only for the passengers, as main user of it, but also for the drivers of heavy traffic and even for the workers of the organization itself, with the aim of helping them to improve the planning of their journeys and to optimize and speed up their passage through the port facilities.

With this tool, which will be developed in collaboration with the company Babel, the APBA aims to improve the quality of the service offered and optimize the passage of passengers and cargo through the port area, through the implementation of a multi-platform system that is intuitive and user-friendly and provides, in real time, both general information about the port and its surroundings, as well as specific information related to port operations.

To this end, a flexible system will be implemented that allows the integration and exchange of information with other existing APBA data sources, such as the Passenger Information System of the Maritime Terminal, offering the user data of interest and notifications in a more agile, fast and mobile way.

The application will be based on a client-server architecture composed of a server part and a client part in which the server is responsible for storing all the information necessary for the application. A content management portal developed in Angular Material, SpringBoot and MySQL will be used as server, which will be in charge of storing all the dynamic contents of the application. The mobile application will communicate with the server, which will be deployed using Docker, through a secure API Rest in JSON format.

For the design of the application we are following the specifications provided by W3C – Mobile Web Best Practices related to usability and accessibility. In addition, security and legal requirements regarding privacy and personal data protection are taken into account.

In later phases of development, the integration of data from other sources is foreseen, which will expand the useful information for port users, such as the APBA’s Autonomous Measurement, Forecasting and Alert System (SAMPA) to provide ocean-meteorological variables or its Port Community System (Teleport), which will provide operational information of interest.

Expected results:

• Perform a previous analysis in collaboration with mobility experts in order to select the most appropriate approach (native vs. hybrid) and technological stack for APBA according to its road map of mobile applications planned in the short and medium term.
• Develop two native mobile applications for the two most used platforms for mobile devices (iOS and Android), mainly focused on passengers using the ferry lines operating from the Ports of Algeciras and Tarifa to Tangier, Tangier-Med and Ceuta, to provide, in real time, relevant information of the Port of Algeciras, in order to help users to improve the planning of their journeys and optimize and streamline their passage through the port facilities.
• To have a flexible system capable of integrating and exchanging information in real time with other existing APBA data sources in order to provide the user with updated information related to port operations.
• To have an administration portal so that an administrator user can generate and edit the main contents that will be shown in the apps, thus avoiding that any change implies an update of the apps in the different markets.
• Capture data to analyze usage patterns and collect anonymized information from users in order to adapt and improve both the experience of the application itself, as well as operational processes.