Manufacturing line/Port equipment/Ship-to-shore crane
Autonomous · Port equipment

Ship-to-shore crane

Two forty-foot boxes a lift, a lift a minute, no cab, no operator, no shift change.

Phase 5 · 2031+Concept design
Boxes / hour
120 peak
all-tandem · ≈ 85 sustained
Per lift
2 × 40 ft
Gross weight
≈ 2,000 t
Metal content
≈ 94%
I · Blueprint
Side elevation, live systems
OUTREACH 75 mBACKREACH 30 mRAIL SPAN 35.5 mLIFT HEIGHT57.5 m above railLOWERING20 m below railRAIL LEVEL ±0AABShip midship section (context)Boom hingeForestaysBackstayPortal beam (end-on)Rope path to trolleyQuay cable trenchLandside transfer laneWATERSIDE RAILLANDSIDE RAIL0102030405060708091011121314Lashing platformand platform trolleyVIEW A–A · LANDSIDE PORTAL27 m OVER BUMPERSCLEAR 19 mMachinery houseGirders, doubleboxPortal beamTrolleySpreaderSill beamMiddle beamCable reelCable trenchGantry bogieDETAIL C · GANTRY BOGIE, ONE CORNERPortal leg, broken viewLeg pinMain equaliserEqualiserWheel pairBumperGantry drive motor16 × 45–55 kW, gearedWheel load ≤ 76 t/m · 8 wheels per corner, 4 drivenSECTION B–B · MACHINERY HOUSE, CUTAWAYE-HOUSEMECHANICAL ROOMBoom hoist 350 kWTrolley drive 1 × 355 kWHoist drumsMV transformerAFE drives, regenerativeSupercapacitorsHoist motors 2 × 1,400 kW, brakesReducerHoist ropesTrolley on girder railsSensor cabReeving sheavesHeadblockSpreader, twistlocksINSTALLED DRIVESMain hoist 2 × 1,400 kWBoom hoist 350 kWTrolley 1 × 355 kW, rope-towedGantry 16 × 45–55 kW, gearedPlatform trolley 200 + 2 × 22 kW≈ 4.5 MW installedLowering returns 75–80% to the DC link, 60–70% round trip; the 22 kWh bank takes every lowering
01Boom — doublebox, hinged, 75 m outreachStructure
02A-frame apex, forestays & boom-hoist ropesStructure
03Girder — 30 m backreachStructure
04Portal legs — waterside & landsideStructure
05Sill beam & knee bracesStructure
06Trolley — rope-towedHandling
07Hoist ropes, headblock & dual-hoist tandem spreader — 2 × 40 ftHandling
08Sensor cab — lidar & vision array, no operatorHandling
09Machinery house — 2 × 1,400 kW hoist motors, gearbox, twin drumsPower
10E-house — MV transformer & regenerative drivesPower
11Supercapacitor bank — 22 kWh, 3 MWPower
12Festoon — trolley power & dataPower
13Motorised cable reel — grid feed, 6.6 kVDrive
14Gantry bogies — 8 wheels per corner, 16 geared motorsDrive
II · Power & drivetrain

Every descent charges the next lift.

Lowering a loaded spreader turns the hoist motors into generators. Supercapacitors catch that energy and hand it back on the next lift, cutting peak draw from the grid.

Hoist machinery — rotating view
Twin 1,400 kW hoist motors drive two grooved drums through one gearbox; the ropes pay out to the headblock as the spreader lowers and the motors run as generators. Trolley drive above, gantry wheel drive at right.
01Hoist motors — 2 × 1,400 kW, liquid-cooled, regenerative
02Brake discs — one per motor shaft
03Twin-output hoist gearbox — 40:1
04Hoist drums — 2 × 1.6 m, grooved, 18 rpm loaded
05Hoist ropes & headblock — 130 t at 90 m/min, 180 m/min empty
06Trolley drive — 1 × 355 kW, rope-towed, 240 m/min
07Gantry drives — 16 × 45–55 kW geared motors, 45 m/min
08Supercapacitor bank — 22 kWh, 3 MW, catches every lowering
Gantry wheel & geared motor
Wheels8 per corner, 32 in all, 16 driven
WheelØ 1.0 m forged steel, flanged
Geared motors16 × 45–55 kW, sized to the design wind
Gantry speed45 m / min
Wheel load≤ 76 t per metre of rail
Naked drivetrain — energy to motion
III · How it is put together

Built in blocks, joined, then brought to life.

Blocks are fabricated in parallel, joined in sequence, and the power module and autonomy core go in last. The loop below replays the build order.

POWER MODULE
I
Structural members fabricated
II
Frame erected & aligned
III
Drive & power package installed
IV
Sensors & autonomy calibrated
V
Commissioned on the terminal
IV · Specification

Concept specification.

Design specification for the autonomous ship-to-shore crane.

Outreach
75 m
Lift height
57.5 m above rail
Safe working load
130 t under spreader
Containers per lift
2 × 40 ft or 4 × 20 ft
Boxes per hour
120 peak (all-tandem) · ≈ 85 sustained
Gross weight
≈ 2,000 t
Metal content
≈ 94% steel
Power
6.6 kV grid feed + 22 kWh supercapacitors
Consumption
≈ 350 kWh / hr at 85 boxes / hr
Gantry
45 m / min · 16 × 45–55 kW geared
Hoist drive
2 × 1,400 kW
Hoist speed
90 m/min at 130 t · 120 m/min at typical tandem load · 180 m/min empty
Trolley
240 m / min · 1 × 355 kW rope-towed
Cycle time
≈ 60 s per tandem lift
Installed power
≈ 4.5 MW
Crew
0 · no cab
Onboard compute
Two AI modules see every lift; a certified controller holds the safe envelope
Modules2 AI modules (spreader zone; landside & lashing zone) + 1 certified safety controller
CPU32 cores (2 × 16) + 4 lockstep real-time cores per module
AI throughput10,000 TOPS total (2 × 5,000, INT8 / FP4 sparse)
Memory2 × 128 GB LPDDR6, 600 GB/s per module
Power draw200 W compute; ≈ 0.5 kW with 32 cameras, 8 lidars and 2 radars — 0.14% of the crane’s ≈ 350 kW average draw
Process node2 nm-class SoC; safety controller on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply. Compute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life of the crane’s 25–30 years
RedundancyEvery sensor is wired to both modules. Module 1 is primary for the spreader zone and hot standby for the landside; module 2 is primary for the landside and hot standby for the spreader zone. Either one alone runs the crane at reduced speed.
SafetyThe SIL 3 controller has its own sensors: absolute encoders on hoist, trolley, boom and gantry, load cells in the headblock pins, limit switches at every end of travel, and safety-rated lidar and radar on the gantry and trolley. A software fault can never drive the crane outside its certified safe envelope.
Sensors32 cameras on automotive Ethernet through camera aggregation switches, 8 lidars, 2 radars; load cells, sway sensors and encoders on every drive
LinkFibre through the cable reel, private 5G backup; plan from The Brain each second, trajectory corrected on the crane every 25 ms, drive current loops closed every 1 ms
Edge AI on the crane does the perception and the fine motion; the plan comes from The Brain. Both modules see every sensor; each runs its own zone and holds the other’s state warm. Commands pass from the machine agent through the certified safety channel to the drives, and no path goes around it. A software fault can never drive the crane outside its certified safe envelope. Compute is sized for the 2031 generation of edge silicon and draws 0.14% of the crane’s power.
Crane cycle
120 boxes an hour at peak, ≈ 85 sustained
Lift typeDual-hoist tandem spreader: two 40 ft boxes side by side in one bay, or four 20 ft. Each hoist lands its box on its own, so the two boxes need not sit at the same height.
Boxes per cycle2 × 40 ft = 4 TEU. Up to 32.5 t each: 65 t under the spreaders, half the 130 t rating; 100 t on the ropes with both headblocks and spreaders.
Cycle time≈ 60 s. Pick 4 s; hoist 20 m at 2 m/s while the trolley runs 45 m at 4 m/s, 22 s; lower 8 m onto the lashing platform and land, 7 s; release 3 s; empty return 15 s; lower 20 m into the ship and spot, 9 s.
Arithmetic3,600 s ÷ 60 s = 60 lifts an hour × 2 boxes = 120 boxes an hour, 240 TEU: the peak rate, every lift a tandem. Discharge and load cycles are mirror images.
Sustained≈ 85 boxes an hour over a whole ship call: about 46 lifts an hour, 39 of them tandem, with deep hold lifts, hatch covers and bay changes in the same hour.
Why 60 s holdsThe main trolley shuttles between the ship and a lashing platform on the portal beam, 45 m instead of 90 m to the truck lane; a second trolley carries boxes from the platform to the tractor lane while the main trolley is back over the ship; twistlocks are pulled by robots on the platform; automated spotting removes the 20–35% of time today’s cranes lose between design and achieved cycle.
TodaySingle or twin-20 lifts at a 72 s design cycle and ≈ 100 s achieved: 25–34 boxes per crane-hour in the US, ≈ 36 typical worldwide, 62.6 lifts in one hour the single-crane record. Tandem-40 spreaders exist and are rated at 45–50 lifts an hour by their designers.
IC tandem lift · 60 s · 2 × 40 ftpick · 4 shoist 20 m + trolley 45 m · 22 slower 8 m, land · 7 srelease · 3 sempty return · 15 slower 20 m, spot · 9 s= 60 lifts/hr × 2 = 120 boxes/hr peakToday · single lift · ≈ 100 s achieved (72 s design) · 1 box72 s design≈ 100 s achieved → 36 boxes/hr0 s20 s40 s60 s80 s100 sSame scale, both rows. The IC cycle runs quay ↔ lashing platform (45 m), not quay ↔ truck lane (90 m).
The number is the cycle time, not the software. The Brain’s part is to have two boxes ready under the spreader every minute: the stow plan fixed before the ship arrives, the tractor at the platform before the box comes down, and the next bay planned while this one is worked.
Today vs IC
Operation, spreader and power: today’s largest quay cranes beside the IC design
Today · super-post-Panamax quay craneIC design
Operation1 cab operator per crane plus a signaller; remote cranes run the cycle above a safe height and a remote operator lands every box; lashing by handNo cab and no operator. The crane lands every box itself; robots pull twistlocks on the lashing platform
SpreaderSingle or twin 20 ft on most cranes; tandem 2 × 40 ft on a fewDual-hoist tandem on every lift: 2 × 40 ft or 4 × 20 ft
Moves per hour28–34 boxes per crane-hour in the US, ≈ 36 worldwide; 62.6 lifts in one hour is the single-crane record120 boxes peak (all-tandem), ≈ 85 sustained
Hoist and powerMain hoist ≈ 1.2 MW on two motors, 75–90 m/min loaded, 150–180 empty; ≈ 3 MW installedMain hoist 2 × 1,400 kW; 90 m/min at 130 t, 120 at typical tandem load, 180 empty; ≈ 4.5 MW installed
Energy≈ 6 kWh per move, 2 of it auxiliaries; lowering returns 75–80% to the drives and grid≈ 4.1 kWh per box, ≈ 350 kWh / hr at 85 boxes; a 22 kWh supercapacitor bank catches every lowering
Size57.5 m lift, 75 m outreach, ≈ 2,000 t57.5 m lift, 75 m outreach, ≈ 2,000 t on 8 wheels per corner
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
Every movement of this machine is planned by The Brain’s orchestration layer, mirrored in the port’s digital twin, and re-planned the moment reality drifts.
See how it works →
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