Finland's Kalmar Industries will test its latest automated container handling gear through 2007-08 at its Tampere factory using computer models of the Port of Hamburg's biggest container yard.
The virtual terminal will run straddle carriers and automatic stacking cranes on the computer model copy of the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG's (HHLA) Container Terminal Burchardkai, the largest box handler in Hamburg, Germany.
Kalmar, which seeks to develop a totally automated container yard system, is part of the Helsinki-listed Cargotec Corporation, an international provider of hi-tech cargo handling systems, whose net sales were EUR2.6 billion (US$3.5 billion) in 2006.
To test the automation for the Hamburg terminal, a computer simulation of a stacking area with three stacking cranes was created to match layout of the yard. Using the simulator, machine controls and the supervisory systems can be tested by approximating the handling of the cranes, said a Kalmar statement.
The simulator can also be used to train operators on the remote control systems for loading and unloading trucks. Under the system, crane operators will be located at the terminal's central control tower where they will use the spreader and overhead camera systems to monitor tasks.
The virtual terminal will run straddle carriers and automatic stacking cranes on the computer model copy of the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG's (HHLA) Container Terminal Burchardkai, the largest box handler in Hamburg, Germany.
Kalmar, which seeks to develop a totally automated container yard system, is part of the Helsinki-listed Cargotec Corporation, an international provider of hi-tech cargo handling systems, whose net sales were EUR2.6 billion (US$3.5 billion) in 2006.
To test the automation for the Hamburg terminal, a computer simulation of a stacking area with three stacking cranes was created to match layout of the yard. Using the simulator, machine controls and the supervisory systems can be tested by approximating the handling of the cranes, said a Kalmar statement.
The simulator can also be used to train operators on the remote control systems for loading and unloading trucks. Under the system, crane operators will be located at the terminal's central control tower where they will use the spreader and overhead camera systems to monitor tasks.