Skip to main content

Port of Hamburg launches intelligent traffic light

The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) in Germany and NXP Semiconductors have partnered on an intelligent traffic light for the port that they claim optimises the flow of truck traffic and guides drivers through the increasingly heavily used port more quickly and safely. The smartPORT traffic light was developed by the HPA in conjunction with its partners NXP, Siemens, Heusch/Boesefeldt and Hamburg Verkehrsanlagen. NXP supplied the solutions for the wireless communication, V2X and RFID, and ensures data pro
June 3, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) in Germany and 566 NXP Semiconductors have partnered on an intelligent traffic light for the port that they claim optimises the flow of truck traffic and guides drivers through the increasingly heavily used port more quickly and safely.

The smartPORT traffic light was developed by the HPA in conjunction with its partners NXP, 189 Siemens, Heusch/Boesefeldt and Hamburg Verkehrsanlagen.

NXP supplied the solutions for the wireless communication, V2X and RFID, and ensures data protection and security, while Siemens was responsible for the connection to the traffic light and traffic engineering modifications. Hamburg Verkehrsanlagen linked up all the different project members’ technical components for operation and integrated them into the overall system.

The intelligent traffic light enables trucks to be guided around the port more quickly to help reduce CO2 emissions. A special automotive Vehicle-to-X (V2X) wireless LAN communication system allows vehicles to communicate securely and wirelessly with infrastructure elements such as traffic lights, road signs and roadworks. An approaching line of vehicles can communicate with the intelligent traffic light to turn it green or keep it green, allowing the vehicles to pass the light without stopping. In addition, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology allows the traffic light to identify vulnerable road users in the vicinity and, as a result, send automatic hazard warnings to approaching trucks via V2X to prevent accidents.

“The intelligent port is a key component of the ‘Strategie Digitale Stadt’ (Digital City Strategy) adopted by Hamburg’s Senate at the beginning of the year. The innovations currently being tested in the port by HPA and NXP will play an important part in making the port even more competitive and will add to the location benefits for the city of Hamburg: we need intelligent traffic solutions that improve both the safety and quality of life of the people who live here,” says Hamburg’s Minister of Economy, Transport, and Innovation Frank Horch.

“We intend to significantly boost the safety and efficiency of traffic and freight management within the port of Hamburg with our smartPORT projects. This calls for innovative concepts and solutions. Based on its experience and expertise in the areas of intelligent traffic management and secure communication, NXP is a key strategic innovation partner for us,” says Dr. Sebastian Saxe, CIO and chief digital officer at the HPA.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Transmax trials emergency vehicle ‘green wave’
    December 6, 2013
    Existing equipment used in Australian emergency vehicle ‘green wave’ trial. Despite the lights and sirens, accidents between the motoring public and emergency vehicles on their way to/from the scene of an incident are relatively frequent. Figures from various sources indicate that road accidents are the second most frequent cause of death for on-duty fire fighter fatalities and that more than 90% of ambulance and fire engine accidents occur when the lights are on and the sirens wailing. Other studies indica
  • Smoothing out city freight movements
    May 28, 2014
    David Crawford welcomes a national first. Urban freight movements, while commercially and socially vital, are a growing logistical headache for planners and people alike. Figures from France’s Lyon Laboratory of Transport Economics indicate that goods transport in major urban areas accounts for: 20% of traffic; 35% of CO2 emissions made by all urban trips; and 50% of the diesel used; while final km delivery runs account for 20% of the total cost of the transport chain.
  • AV ride-pooling in Hamburg by 2025
    September 17, 2021
    VW, Moia and Argo AI's plan is important piece of future mobility 'puzzle', says German city
  • National truck tolling scheme compensates for transit traffic
    July 13, 2012
    Q-Free's Per Frederik Ecker talks about the Slovak Republic's new truck tolling system, which is intended to compensate for the large amounts of transit traffic which passes through the country. In January this year Q-Free, together with Siemens, was awarded the contract to deliver the new national truck tolling scheme in the Slovak Republic. This will be operated by Slovakia SkyToll on a 13-year concession and Q-Free is supplying the central tolling and enforcement system, together with a three-year servic