Drones and satellites to make the port of Taranto smarter

PORT OF TARANTO, 14 February 2023 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the DTA (Aerospace Technology District) and the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea to use experimental technologies to monitor activities in the port area and to integrate sustainably intermodality and the provision of services between land and sea

The President of the Aerospace Technology District (DTA), Giuseppe Acierno, and the President of the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea, Sergio Prete, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop and implement UAM / UAS (Urban Air Mobility / Unmanned Aerial Systems) applications through which to test the application of air mobility systems to maritime transport, enabling long-term socio-economic development based on the inclusive protection of natural heritage. 

The collaboration between the parties is focused on the following objectives: 

• to contribute to the European strategy defined in aerospace and maritime policies whose principles represent and ensure proper coordination and complementarity with the activities of Member States while continuing to pursue cutting-edge issues; 
• to enhance the integration of mutual scientific knowledge in the fields under consideration;
• to create public value for the benefit of the socio-economic system (territorial and port); 
• to participate in innovation/acceleration programmes and/or training activities providing the necessary skills in space and maritime innovation; 
• to participate in initiatives to support the innovative ecosystem of the territory and the Port of Taranto; 
• to promote innovation in specific research areas where aerospace and maritime solutions can serve as common and interchangeable factors of growth for the local aerospace and maritime economy;
• to support the design and testing of UAM applications and services, U-space enabling services and innovative services based on space technologies (SATEO, SATNAV, SATCOM).

In effect, collaboration will enable monitoring of changes in the various pollution matrices of the port area and the experimentation of smart modes of loading / unloading of goods in the port, through the use of drones that will guarantee the transport of goods between docks and ships waiting to dock in the port. The collaboration process will also involve the companies that currently manage the connection services between ships and docks and other companies operating within the Port of Taranto, and will enable the use of satellite technologies and drones to monitor the area to ensure greater efficiency and safety in all operations. The collaboration launched between DTA and the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea will further promote the experimental activities developed in the Airport Test bed in Grottaglie and the House of Emerging Technologies in Bari, strengthening the development capacity of the drone and satellite technology industry and the offering of smart services in the integration between space, land and sea.

As DTA President Giuseppe Acierno states, ‘the start of the collaboration with the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea is a further opportunity to up the rate of innovation and the use of technology in the territorial system of Puglia, to provide new innovative solutions based on the use of drones and satellites to operators in the Port Authority ecosystem and to continue along the path that over the years has seen us build Puglia's innovation capacity and credibility in this sector, taking the stage as a player in European aerospace.’

President Sergio Prete expressed his satisfaction at the launch of this further collaboration which allows the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea to continue and broaden its current path of innovation and experimentation. Drone technology will be an important and tangible contribution to the innovative evolution of the Port of Taranto by providing port operators with new tools to increase their productivity potential while complying with all safety and security obligations.