Falmouth Harbour Launches AI Pilot to Improve Safety and Environmental Monitoring

Falmouth Harbour teams up with RoboK to pilot groundbreaking safety tech

Falmouth Harbour has begun testing a new AI-powered system designed to improve safety, efficiency and environmental protection across its busy waters.

The harbour is working with technology partners RoboK on a pilot project using artificial intelligence to monitor vessel movements 24/7, spot potential hazards and flag risks to marine habitats. The trial is backed by a £65,000 grant from Innovate UK and uses the harbour’s existing CCTV network to gather data in real-time.

RoboK, a University of Cambridge spinout, has created the “Harbour-AI” platform specifically for this pilot. The project will run initially for six months and includes £6,500 allocated directly to Falmouth Harbour to support training for its team.

Smarter monitoring, safer waters

The AI system can track vessel movements, detect unusual or suspicious activity and even monitor how often ships anchor in sensitive areas like seagrass beds. The platform also provides trend data on vessel speeds and movements, helping the team make informed decisions about safety and environmental impacts.

Falmouth Harbour CEO Miles Carden said:

“The Innovate Funding award allows us to embrace the exciting new world of AI and if this unique pilot project with RoboK works for us it can work to improve the safety and efficiency of our operations. This can then be transferred to any harbour, port or marine business.”

He added:

“Harbour-AI’s use of our existing CCTV infrastructure maximises the use of data already gathered in an affordable way. The up-skilling of our team is highly valuable and we are excited to be in the vanguard – exploring the uses of this mind-blowing technology.”

Environmental and operational benefits

Examples of what the new system could help detect include:

• How often ships drop anchor in protected habitats

• Suspicious or unusual movements, automatically flagged to staff

• Trends in vessel speeds and traffic patterns

RoboK CEO Hao Zheng said:

“Falmouth Harbour is a perfect partner to pilot our Harbour-AI platform – with a team keen to make the technological leap and a wide and varied range of commercial, leisure and environmental factors constantly at play.”

He explained:

“Our cutting-edge computer vision solution automates and analyses visual data from existing CCTV cameras, while our AI algorithms interpret this video data to provide safety incident detection and alerts. This allows harbour staff to make more informed decisions while managing their operations more effectively – ultimately enhancing safety and compliance.”

To follow this project or learn more about Falmouth Harbour’s wider work, visit www.falmouthharbour.co.uk.