Predictive Analytics-based U.S. Inland Waterways Voyage Planning Analysis Tool (VPAT)
- Trabus Technologies, San Diego, CA (USA)
Research Proposed: Trabus Technologies (TRABUS), working with Louisiana State University (LSU), will develop a predictive analytics-based US Inland Waterways Voyage Planning Analysis tool to help vessel traffic managers, tow boat pilots, and river lock operators maximize transport logistic resources. This tool will use current and forecasted hydrographic, meteorological, lock status, and Marine Safety Information to help commercial cargo operators and the Marine Industry determine optimal barge loading and tow configuration for any specified commodity/cargo movement. Problem/Opportunity: When planning any journey using US Inland Waterways, commercial cargo operators must manually consider a vast range of complex factors to determine optimal load for every vessel to ensure efficient and safe passage for its entire journey, which often includes rapidly-changing environmental conditions. For example, a 4-inch change in river level (from rain a week after departure) correlates to a 72-ton variance in a large barge’s capacity; operators must predict this change or risk hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue per journey. A machine learning based predictive tool to rapidly process current and forecasted conditions would provide the Marine Industry with greater voyage planning and efficient transport management. Developed by TRABUS for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the River Information Services Enterprise (RISE) provides the technical framework enabling collection, integration, and exchange of navigation and vessel logistics information for safe, efficient, reliable, and environmentally responsible navigation between the Marine Industry and Government. Plan: Develop predictive algorithms and data-driven analytics for a commercial cloud-based Voyage/Transport Planning Service to maximize transport commodities and minimize intermodal transfers. Leverage ongoing RISE BigData efforts to analyze data from US Geological Survey (USGS), USACE Lock Performance Monitoring System, US Coast Guard’s Notice to Mariners, and Marine Industry’s barge, vessel, commodity, and supply chain data. LSU will leverage its ongoing BigData expertise with NOAA, National Weather Service, and USGS data to develop the methodology. Benefits: This technology will improve existing RISE data resources, streamline data exchange, introduce BigData analytics, and enhance maritime decision support. Government benefits include: reduction in error rate in barge, cargo type, and tonnage reporting; customized analysis of river commerce; optimized lock utilization by the Marine Industry; and improved assessment of natural disaster. The Marine Industry benefits include: improved voyage planning; reduced lock and terminal wait times; reduced costly manual reporting requirements; improved notification of navigation hazards; and optimized scheduling of tow and barge utilization. Market: US Inland Waterways handles over 624 million tons of freight (274 billion ton-miles) valued at over $70 billion resulting in an average transportation cost savings of $11/ton (as compared to other transportation modes) saving more than $7 billion annually in transportation costs to America’s economy. The target market will be vessel and barge operators, fleet providers, material handling operators, and the myriad local, state, and federal government agencies who employ this information in their daily operations. The data will be offered as a cloud-based analytics-as-a-service and delivered through paid subscription for access to near-real time data and analysis tools for river transportation operations.
- Research Organization:
- Trabus Technologies
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Engineering & Technology. Office of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0018477
- OSTI ID:
- 1756899
- Type / Phase:
- SBIR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DE-SC-0018477
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
ORNL Trusted Corridors Project: Watts Bar Dam Inland Waterway Project
First Road / River Barge Security Transport of SNF under the New German Transport Security Guidelines - 19102