Enhancing Worker Safety in Harbors Using Quadruped Robots

TL;DR

The paper addresses improving worker safety in harbors by identifying critical inspection needs through semi-structured interviews with Genova port workers and evaluating the feasibility of sensorized quadruped robots for land-side inspections. It adopts a three-phase methodology: preliminary workflow gathering, Spot demonstrations, and design sessions to elicit tasks and autonomy requirements. The results classify harbor areas into storage yards, ships' holds, and cranes, and propose a mix of quadruped- and drone-based sensing tasks (e.g., chemical leaks, radiation, fires, cargo stability) with corresponding autonomy levels. The work provides a practitioner-focused foundation for deploying autonomous or mixed-autonomy quadruped robots to enhance safety, with attention to worker acceptance and operational integration. Future work will involve implementing and testing the proposed solution in real harbor settings.

Abstract

Infrastructure inspection is becoming increasingly relevant in the field of robotics due to its significant impact on ensuring workers' safety. The harbor environment presents various challenges in designing a robotic solution for inspection, given the complexity of daily operations. This work introduces an initial phase to identify critical areas within the port environment. Following this, a preliminary solution using a quadruped robot for inspecting these critical areas is analyzed.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Spot robot inspecting a container at the Harbor of Genova
• Figure 2: Terminal Rinfuse Genova storing bulked goods (coal).