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EMC4Ports

Environmental Monitoring Center for Ports.

Monitoring of water and air in the areas in front of and surrounding port infrastructures
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Research focus
The EMC4Ports project is dedicated to the creation of a low-impact system for monitoring water and air in port and coastal areas. The aim is to detect critical situations, provide alerts, and support the management of environmental emergencies, thus contributing to the mitigation of damage in the short and medium term. This approach aims to improve the operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability of port infrastructure, in line with the challenges of "smart and sustainable ports.".
Solution found
The solution identified by EMC4Ports is an integrated ecosystem composed of a versatile modular vessel that can be configured as a mobile station equipped with sensors to collect environmental data (air and water) and send it to a ground station where it is processed using a decision support system equipped with pollutant propagation forecasting models and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms.
Advanced technological solution
The technological solution identified by EMC4Ports is an integrated ecosystem composed of several key components:
Mobile Infrastructure (Modular Vessel)

A versatile modular vessel, with a hull made of floating modules in high-density polyethylene (HDPE), recyclable to 100%, and electric propulsion by means of lithium batteries, configurable as a mobile station for collecting environmental data (air and water) or for targeted interventions in protected port areas.

IoT Sensors and Communication Infrastructure

Multiparametric sensors for air (TSI BlueSky) and water (Geovs SMx-485 probe) are installed on board the vessel and, for air, also at fixed locations on land. The collected data is transmitted in real time to a ground station via LoRaWAN wireless technology.

Ground Station and Decision Support System (DSS):

This station hosts a Data Analytics Engine, developed by Relatech, which processes the incoming data. Thanks to predictive pollutant propagation models and artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, the DSS provides port operators with crucial information, recommendations, and forecasts for the informed management of environmental issues.

Financing
The EMC4Ports project is funded under the "cascade calls" of the RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment) project. This initiative is part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – Mission 4, Component 2, "From Research to Business", Investment 1.5, and is supported by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU program. The project specifically addresses the challenges of Spoke 4, which focuses on "smart and sustainable ports.".

Partnership
Relatech SpA is the lead company of the partnership implementing the EMC4Ports project, which includes four other micro and small enterprises (SITEM srl, PM10 srl, DragFlow Sud srl, and the International Institute of Communications).
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