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Portuguese ports among the most technologically innovative in the world

A pioneer, the 3Port software tool developed by the Institute of Systems Engineering and Computers, Technology and Science(INESCT TEC), supports the range of business processes of port authorities, from port traffic to security, through licensing. It also includes a public interface, which allows all interested parties to monitor, in real time, the activity at the port.

Since September the ports of Leixões and Viana do Castelo have been using this innovative tool, in a pilot initiative that makes them two of the most technologically advanced ports in the world. The expectation is that 3Port will become an indispensable tool for the technical services of port authorities, ensuring greater efficiency in processes, greater support for decision making, and reduced operating costs. Together, these effects can potentiate a sustainable growth of the ports' activities. 

Live Map The publicly accessible part of 3Port, based on the Live Map (one of eight modules that make up 3Port), is an excellent way to promote the port to the general public. It offers real-time, freely accessible information on port traffic; this information is easily integrated with panoramic views of the port, with the Google and with the social network Facebook. Live Map also has the facility to be adapted to mobile devices (tablets e smartphones), without the need to download an application, because the system is adaptable to any browser. 3Port itself is based on open source web.

The INESC TEC team in this project, led by Lino Oliveira, highlights the triangle of technology transfer created, on which the project's success is based: INESCT TEC as the research center, producer of the innovation; the company TRIEDE TTI as the innovation taker and producer of the solution; and the Administração dos Portos do Douro, Leixões e Viana do Castelo (APDL) as the solution taker and the one who identifies the requirements. 

3Port There are good prospects for the expansion of 3Port to other ports, in Portugal and abroad. The tool has already been presented in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Angola, and has received high recognition; the objectives of the researchers and TRIEDE TTI are the CPLP countries and Latin America. 

This year, 2015, marks the 30th anniversary of INESCT TEC, one of the national research centers funded by FCT. Over the past three decades, INESCT TEC, which brings together 12 centers and 700 researchers, has been able to apply knowledge and results generated in basic research in technology transfer projects, with remarkable impact on society and the economy, with great success. In the last FCT evaluation of R&D units, INESC TEC was among the 60 centers classified as Excellent.

(Credits of images: INESC TEC)