The 5G network support Volkswagen Group’s automotive terminal at the port of Emden, covering a logistics area the size of over 100 football fields 

Deutsche Telekom, Volkswagen Group Logistics, the Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics (BIBA), and software expert Unikie have collaborated on a project to increase efficiency at Volkswagen’s automotive terminal in Emden.  

The port of Emden is the largest automotive terminal in Germany, where more than 1 million vehicles are imported and exported every year. 

The project is part of the publicly funded “AutoLog” project at the port of Emden, which aims to automate and improve workflows at automotive terminals, using the Volkswagen plant in Emden as a primary test site.  

AutoLog is set to run for three years with a budget of €5.8 million.  

Today’s partnership will see Deutsche Telekom support the Emden terminal with 5G, a well as deploying an edge data centre at the site. Combined, this infrastructure will allow the vehicles at the site to be handled more efficiently and enable the testing of various traffic management scenarios, notably including both manual and autonomous vehicle operations. 

As part of this process, a digital twin of the test field is also being established at the port using LiDAR sensors. This will allow those overseeing the port to understand the exact movement of people and vehicles around the port in real time. 

For the vehicles themselves, software company Unikie is supplying a “marshalling system”. The system enables precise and safe automatic control of the vehicles even in densely populated or confined areas. The system is facilitated by the public 5G network and the special purpose edge data centre, which can ensure faster response times and real-time data processing.  

It is hoped that this test site at Emden will serve as a case study for the wider AutoLog project, demonstrating how automotive terminals can be made more automated and efficient.