News / Hyundai brings in AI for vehicle loading onto PCTCs

Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai Motor’s shipping arm, is to use artificial intelligence to determine how vehicles are loaded on its pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs).

A proprietary in-house-developed system will calculate the optimal loading location by considering port call order, cargo weight, and height.

Typically, PCTCs carry thousands of vehicles bound for various destinations. Glovis will install the system on all its PCTCs – around 90 vessels.

Inefficient loading plans can cause vehicles destined for closer ports of call being blocked by vehicles heading to the next, which often requires vehicles to be unloaded and then reloaded. Deploying AI-based load-planning technology can pre-empt such inefficiency, saving time and money.

A Hyundai Glovis representative said, “Loading and unloading performed according to the plan developed using this technology demonstrated safety and efficiency, comparable with those designed by experts.

“The time taken to develop a loading plan was reduced by half, compared with the previous time (approximately 27 hours). As the technology advances, this reduction is expected to exceed 90%.”

For bulky cargo like heavy equipment, loading location is on the lower deck of the car-carrier, considering factors such as the height of each deck and the load it can withstand. This ensures an even distribution of the ship’s centre of gravity.

The internal structure of each PCTC and cargo composition varies from ship to ship, making it difficult to establish a uniform loading plan. Furthermore, with more than 6,000 vehicles loaded onto a single ship, establishing a loading plan requires significant expertise and a significant amount of time.

Glovis’s AI-based loading algorithm creates a data model that systematically represents the structural characteristics and mobility potential of a PCTC by segmenting the interior of the ship into floors and sections. This allows AI ​​to determine vehicle movement paths and placement.

The technology also automatically checks for any obstructions to vehicle movement, whether height and weight requirements are met, and whether the loading sequence is correct before forming the loading plan.