AI deployed to track cargo, individuals at India's largest domestic cargo terminal at Bengaluru
BENGALURU: In a move that is revolutionising how cargo or individuals are kept track of, the newly opened domestic cargo terminal at Bengaluru airport has adopted Artificial Intelligence to monitor cargo. A total of 170 hi-definition CCTV cameras capture all activities within its premises, and they are monitored 24x7 in a separate room.
During a recent media visit to the terminal, Anil Kumar, CEO of Menzies Aviation Private Limited, told TNIE, "Cargo items are vulnerable and some are of very high value. To ensure they are completely safe, they are continuously monitored. We have incorporated AI technology which easily facilitates tracking every piece of item."
The cameras are extremely useful for surveillance purposes, he said. “They can turn 180 degrees. They have a back-up of one month. The beauty of t is that within 40 seconds, it can help us track any missing item, which is very useful for investigation purposes,” the CEO said.
Another important aspect is that any individual can be tracked continuously. "As long as they are in one room, a camera there keeps track of them but when they move to another spot, the cameras communicate with each other and another camera takes over. We have already alerted every one working in our sprawling terminal that all their movements are kept track of," he said.
Kumar also said that in the calendar year 2024, 180,000 tonnes of domestic cargo was shipped. "This marks a health 9% growth over the previous year. Of this 65% is only because of delivery items shipped by e-commerce giants. Electronic items topped the list of items. This trend is only set to continue with another 9% growth expected this financial year." This necessitated the need for a terminal with better capacity, he added.
Mahadeva Bavi Shivashankar, Vice president, Operations at Menzies Aviation said, “The terminal is built on 2,45,000 square feet and the operational area is 80% of it. 60% of the cargo is outbound and 40% is inbound.”