Rajant Kinetic Mesh for Connected and Automated Ports

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I first heard Sagar Chandra speak about Rajant’s technology at PortComms 2024. I recently caught up with him again to discuss Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh technology in more detail, particularly how it can support ports and other highly mobile industrial environments.

Ports are among the most challenging environments in which to provide reliable wireless connectivity. Container stacks, cranes, ships, buildings and other large metal objects can obstruct, reflect or weaken radio signals. The physical environment is also constantly changing as containers are moved and cranes, trucks, reach stackers and other equipment travel around the terminal.

Conventional Wi-Fi can be perfectly adequate for ports with relatively basic connectivity requirements. It can support office users, handheld devices, tablets and applications in warehouses or other comparatively static areas.

The challenge becomes greater when the network must provide continuous connectivity to moving equipment. Rubber-Tyred Gantry cranes, or RTGs, straddle carriers, terminal tractors, reach stackers and remotely operated machines may move between rows of containers and repeatedly encounter changing radio conditions.

Adding more Wi-Fi access points is not necessarily the complete answer. It may improve coverage, but it can also increase radio planning, interference, handover and management complexity. The network remains largely dependent on mobile clients maintaining connectivity with fixed infrastructure.

Private LTE and 5G provide another option. They offer strong mobility management, wide-area coverage, controlled quality of service and support for increasingly demanding industrial applications. However, deploying and operating a private cellular network may require suitable spectrum, cellular infrastructure, a core network and specialist skills. The right choice will depend on the scale of the port, its applications, existing infrastructure and operational requirements.

Rajant takes a different approach. Its proposition is that a single private wireless mesh network can support multiple port technologies and applications. These can include:

  • Terminal Operating System and optical character recognition connectivity
  • Communications with RTGs and other mobile equipment
  • Handheld devices and local Wi-Fi access
  • Real-time tracking of people, vehicles and equipment
  • Anti-collision systems
  • Safety and access control
  • Live maintenance information and alerts
  • Teleoperation and automation
  • Video, voice and operational data 

The building blocks of the network are Rajant’s ruggedised wireless nodes, known as BreadCrumbs. These can be installed on fixed infrastructure such as buildings, towers and lighting columns, or directly on moving equipment such as RTGs, reach stackers, vehicles and drones.

Each node can act as a client, an access point and a repeater. Instead of every piece of equipment relying exclusively on a fixed access point or cellular base station, nodes can communicate with neighbouring nodes and forward traffic through the mesh.

Rajant’s InstaMesh technology continually evaluates the available connections and routes traffic through suitable paths between fixed and moving nodes. As equipment moves or a container stack obstructs an existing radio path, the network can use an alternative connection where one is available. Multi-radio BreadCrumbs can also use multiple frequencies and links to provide additional route diversity.

This is particularly interesting in a port because mobile equipment is not merely consuming connectivity. It can become part of the network.

An RTG could potentially communicate through another RTG, a reach stacker or a nearby fixed node. Equipment operating between container stacks can create additional paths in parts of the terminal where direct communication with fixed infrastructure is difficult. Adding suitably positioned nodes gives the network more potential routes around obstructions.

This direct machine-to-machine capability is one of Rajant’s main differentiators. The company positions Kinetic Mesh as a decentralised, peer-to-peer architecture in which nodes can communicate without every exchange having to travel through a central access point. There is no single central controller responsible for making all routing decisions, reducing dependence on one element of the network.

The technology does not necessarily have to replace everything already installed at a port. Rajant supports Layer 2 integration with existing fibre, Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G, satellite and fixed wireless systems. Kinetic Mesh can therefore be used to extend existing infrastructure into areas or moving equipment that are difficult to serve reliably.

One example would be connectivity between the Terminal Operating System and an RTG. Operational instructions can be sent to the crane while status, telemetry and other information are returned to the control systems. The same network could carry OCR data, equipment information and video from cameras mounted around the crane.

Teleoperation is an even more demanding application. A remotely operated crane may require control signalling, several live video streams, audio, telemetry and safety information. The operator needs a consistent view of the equipment and its surroundings as the machine moves around the terminal. Connectivity interruptions can therefore affect both productivity and safety.

Rajant currently promotes Kinetic Mesh for tele-remote equipment and autonomous vehicles, using multi-radio nodes to maintain communication with mobile assets. Its current ports positioning also includes yard automation, machine-to-machine communications, real-time video and coordination between vehicles operating around container stacks.

Real-time tracking is another potential application. Ports need to understand the location and status of people, containers, vehicles and specialist equipment. Tracking information can support access control, worker safety, workflow optimisation and faster identification of equipment when it is needed.

Anti-collision systems could exchange information between vehicles or machines, while maintenance systems could receive live alerts from equipment. Instead of waiting for someone to download logs during a maintenance visit, engineering teams may be able to identify emerging issues and respond before they cause a larger operational problem.

The network can also provide local Wi-Fi access for standard devices. A tablet, handheld terminal or other Wi-Fi device may connect to a BreadCrumb, with its traffic then carried across the mesh. This allows the port to support conventional devices while using the mesh to provide mobility and alternative paths across the operational area.

Drones are another possible use case. Ports are increasingly exploring drones for perimeter surveillance, infrastructure inspection, inventory checking and examination of cranes, containers and other difficult-to-reach assets. A drone-mounted node could transmit video or sensor data through nodes positioned around the terminal, although payload, battery life, coverage and aviation regulations would still have to be considered.

Security is obviously important because the network may be carrying operational commands, video and commercially sensitive information. Rajant supports features including AES-based encryption, access controls and configurable per-hop, per-packet authentication. As with any industrial network, these features still need to be configured correctly and integrated into the port’s wider security architecture.

Network management also matters as deployments grow. Rajant provides its BC|Commander tools for monitoring and managing BreadCrumbs, visualising network health and identifying potential problems. More advanced management and support options are available, so it would not be accurate to assume that every deployment is entirely free of recurring software, support or maintenance costs.

Rajant’s commercial argument is that the network should be evaluated on total cost of ownership rather than simply comparing the purchase price of an individual radio. The company says its distributed architecture can reduce the amount of fixed infrastructure, cabling and configuration required, although the actual result will depend on the terminal layout and application.

A meaningful comparison should include the complete cost of the radios, fixed infrastructure, cabling, backhaul, spectrum, network management, software, installation, support, spares, staff skills and equipment replacement. The cost and operational effect of network outages should also be considered. A three-year or five-year comparison is therefore likely to be more useful than comparing the initial price of different network components.

Like every wireless technology, mesh has limitations. It does not remove the need for radio planning, capacity engineering and appropriate node placement. Additional wireless hops may affect throughput and latency, while interference and physical obstructions still need to be managed. Critical applications such as teleoperation also require clear performance targets, redundancy and extensive testing under realistic operating conditions.

Kinetic Mesh should therefore not be seen as a universal replacement for Wi-Fi or private 4G and 5G.

Wi-Fi remains widely supported and cost-effective for many conventional devices and static areas. Private cellular provides standards-based mobility, quality-of-service mechanisms, spectrum control and a broad ecosystem. Mesh is particularly interesting where equipment is moving, the radio environment changes frequently and direct communication between machines can provide alternative paths.

For many ports, the most practical architecture may be a combination of technologies. Fibre can provide the fixed backbone, Wi-Fi can serve buildings and handheld users, private LTE or 5G can deliver wide-area cellular coverage, and Kinetic Mesh can connect highly mobile assets or extend communications into difficult areas between container stacks.

As ports introduce greater levels of automation, remote operation, machine vision and real-time decision-making, connectivity becomes part of the operational technology rather than simply another IT service. Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh provides an interesting alternative, or complement, to the technologies normally considered for private port networks.

The important point is not that every port should use mesh. It is that ports should consider the movement of their equipment, the changing physical environment and the applications the network must support before deciding which combination of wireless technologies is most appropriate.

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