Innovations and smart technologies at Brazilian ports

Abstract

Innovations can help ports become smarter and more effective and differentiate themselves from competitors. This study aims to explore the current state of innovations and smart technologies at Brazilian ports. The study sampled sixteen ports, representing 70% of port movements in Brazilian public ports in 2021. This is an exploratory and descriptive field study involving qualitative analysis. The results show that the surveyed ports are seeking strategies to innovate. Only one of the surveyed ports had a registered patent. Half of all ports had agreements with educational/research institutions, companies, or other ports for developing innovations. By contrast, no port engaged in technology transfer contracts with educational/research institutions, companies, or other ports. Few surveyed ports collaborated with HUBs, laboratories, or innovation centres. The three most widely used smart technologies at the surveyed ports were cloud computing, automated systems, and drone technologies. This study shows that Brazilian ports are undergoing a transformation process, but they find themselves in different stages of maturity regarding the appropriation and development of new technologies. New technologies are still incipient for some ports, while others have yet to adopt them. For example, only a few surveyed ports used smart technologies such as the Internet of Things, blockchain technology, or automated systems. Innovations and the inclusion of new technologies can generate benefits, but they require time and financial resources.