A. Del Borghi, M. Gallo, L Moreschi
University of Genova, Italy, Italy, IT
Among the most promising applications of AI and Robotics, maritime ports show the most important perspectives of investment and expansion. Within the projects financed within the European funds "Next Generation EU", the Robotics and AI for Socio-Economic Empowerment (RAISE) project aims at supporting the development of an innovation ecosystem based on the scientific and technological domains of AI and Robotics. Automation, innovative technologies, smarter and optimized processes are applied to the major maritime ports of Northern Italy (Liguria region), aiming at reducing the environmental impacts of port activities, as well as improving safety and security. Sustainable and circular solutions are tested and implemented in 4 ports, including automated inspections, AI-tools, robotics, autonomous systems, advanced tools and regenerative nature-based solutions. Results are embedded in a decision support system. The proposed innovations are evaluated with the Life Cycle Assessment methodology in order to comprehensively assess and quantify the environmental benefits of the analyzed scenarios at both local and global scales. The adoption of the approach proposed here could significantly reduce the existing bottlenecks, while offering at the same time important opportunities for sustainable development of smart and sustainable ports, combining machine learning and real-time data for port safety, security, and sustainability