Crane surveillance in Panama

Crane surveillance makes it possible to move the work of the crane operator from the control cabin high above the ground to the office. Lagercrantz Group's subsidiary ISG, together with ABB and the end user, has developed such a solution for a port in Panama. The systems means that the latest technology in digital image transmission is tested and used in a real environment.

Abandoning traditional manual control places high demand on the systems. The systems have to be at least as fast as the human eye at registering events and deviation. Analog cameras with high clearness and resolution are therefore used. The images are digitized and then transmitted via the specially adapted network.

The solution thus involves the best from both the analog and the digital world. The combination of digital and analog technology also saves a lot of space since no bulky analog video switch is required. And the operator can control the crane via the computer screen with same general view as if had been sitting in his control cabin high up on the crane.

The system has been successfully used in a number of other installations. During the year the system had its big commerical break-through when the Rotterdam port was equipped with ISG´s system.