Automation of Container Handling and Storage at Ports - Novel Designs and Simulation Studies

This paper presents the impact of instituting Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, Automatically Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS), simplification of transportation network (Loop Based Networks) for a modern maritime container terminal. A 3D simulationanimation which we have developed to show the impact of the proposed re-engineering on the above key productivity variables is also presented. We also discuss the design of a scaled physical simulator that implements realistic structural and control considerations. The results of our research should be of benefit to container terminal designers and operators, and the model can be utilized as the test bed to examine many other scenarios.

Keywords:

Container Terminal Automation , AS/RS , AGV , Simulation