Deutsche Telekom has deployed a 5G network and Edge data center at a Volkswagen port terminal in Emden, Germany. The project is to support a new autonomous car initiative Volkswagen is running at the port.
The Emden site is a central hub in the VW Group’s transportation network, with more than 1 million vehicles handled at the site every year.
The AutoLog project aims to demonstrate the benefits of automation of port logistics at automotive terminals. The companies are exploring the requirements that need to be met for processes and infrastructure at automotive terminals, as well as clarifying how the technical infrastructure for safe vehicle control needs to be designed.
The €5.8 million ($6.2m) project will run for three years and is being led by Volkswagen Group Logistics and BIBA – the Bremen Institute of Production and Logistics Systems at the University of Bremen. Software firm Unikie is also involved.
For the AutoLog project, Deutsche Telekom is providing the logistics area in the port of Emden with 5G coverage.
The telco has also deployed an Edge data center at the site to host the Unikie Marshalling Solution controlling the autonomous cars. Details of the data center were not shared.
A digital twin of the port will be created using LiDAR sensors that will be installed at the Emden site and will include all moving and stationary objects such as people, vehicles, and objects. Communication with the vehicles takes place via the public 5G network.