How the Port of Corpus Christi enhances operational efficiency with digital twin technology

Managing one of the largest ports in the U.S. isn’t just complex–it’s a 24/7 operation that demands real-time insights and seamless collaboration. To modernize operations, the Port of Corpus Christi partnered with The Acceleration Agency to create OPTICS (Overall Port Tactical Information Computer System), based on Esri’s ArcGIS system, using Unity.

This immersive 3D active digital twin is transforming how the port’s police and security departments track, manage, and secure its infrastructure, as demonstrated here:

Results

• Comprehensive situational awareness
• Centralized data access
• Enhanced visualizations

Read on to learn more about how the digital twin was created.

The challenge

As the United States largest crude export, and second-largest LNG export gateway, Texas’ Port of Corpus Christi required an innovative solution to transform its operations and meet complex security and logistics demands. Before implementing the OPTICS digital twin, the Port faced several obstacles that hampered daily effectiveness:

• Inefficient data management: Dispatchers manually collected and interpreted data alongside other daily tasks.
• Fragmented systems: Information was communicated through manual processes such as phone calls, risking delays in productivity.
• Collaboration challenges: There was no cohesive integration between disparate systems that shared some common data points thus lacking a unified way to bring the sources together.

These inefficiencies decreased situational awareness, reduced operational visibility, and limited the Port’s ability to act swiftly and decisively to incidents. Read on to learn how the Port overcame those challenges with their 3D active digital twin Optics, built in Unity.

The solution

Through grant funding, The Port turned to The Acceleration Agency (TAA) to develop a purpose-built solution. The result was OPTICS, a 3D active digital twin built on Unity that integrated with Esri's ArcGIS system through the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity, providing a comprehensive, real-time view of port operations.

Bringing data together in one platform

Star Long, Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency, shared how their team designed the active digital twin to seamlessly integrate multiple data sources. The platform consumes and displays key operational data, including:

• Vessel tracking: Using AIS, real-time data is displayed from hundreds of vessels in the port area, including ship type, speed, and movement status.
• Weather & tides monitoring: Provides current conditions, forecasts, and sensor data as well as security level data from MARSEC, the Coast Guard’s Maritime Security system.
• Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) integration: System that links dispatchers and first responders during an incident.

Building a detailed, interactive view of the Port

The TAA team also leveraged the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity to provide an accurate geospatial canvas to represent operational information and access ArcGIS data sources, incorporating base map layers for context and a 3D building layer to enhance realism. The active digital twin covers 50 square miles of the Port’s area of responsibility through the use of the base layers, geo specific assets for key structures in the Port, and a dynamic water layer to create a highly detailed and customizable map. Port personnel can adjust map styles and interact with the environment for enhanced situational awareness.

By integrating these diverse datasets into a centralized, interactive environment, TAA successfully built a 3D active digital twin that enables Port personnel to access the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it.

Why The Acceleration Agency chose Unity to build OPTICS

Multiplatform support and deployment: With personnel in the field working on mobile devices and dispatch officers stationed at desktop computers, the project required a solution that was accessible across platforms. Unity’s multiplatform support and ability to distribute across app stores ensured that employees across the Ports' different departments could access the digital twin from anywhere.

Display real-time data: Integrating data sources like vessel Automatic Identification System (AIS) data is critical for monitoring port activities and incidents. Unity enabled TAA to bring the various data sources together to display active vessel presence and movement information from ship transponders and security information in real-time.

Faster development and iteration: The Unity Editor’s ScriptableObjects allowed the TAA team to speed up development time and served as a built-in dependency management system. This allowed the team to:

• Easily view and update app data while debugging in the Editor
• Define various types of vessels and other entities
• Reuse assets faster across projects

Additionally, the availability of purchasable 3D assets through the Unity Asset Store provided an accelerated starting point to increase the team’s development speed. These resources allowed the TAA team to use pre-existing assets like police SUVs,, tankers, cargo vessels, tugs, docks, and barges as a foundation for customizations, instead of building them from scratch.

The results

Comprehensive situational awareness

Centralizing the Port’s previously fragmented systems into OPTICS is setting the stage for transformational changes. Enhanced 3D visualizations and real-time data integration allow the Port to view and respond to incidents at a granular level. Port authorities can now identify nearby assets, coordinate with assigned police units, and view multiple systems simultaneously.

Centralized data access

Access to the unified platform has led to seamless information sharing. Dispatchers are no longer the single point to relay communications, and supervisors are empowered to make decisions faster, knowing that everyone has access to the same information.

Enhanced visualizations

Presenting the digital twin as a photorealistic replica of the port results in a visual representation of the data that is easier for humans to process. With OPTICS, port authorities can digitally monitor the port in real-time, enabling them to accelerate communication and decision making when incidents occur.

Looking ahead

The initial launch of OPTICS is just the beginning for the Port of Corpus Christi. Here’s what will be coming in future phases of development:

• Phase 2 enhancements: Using grants, this phase includes developing a vessel-crossing prediction system, and integrating security cameras with the application.
• Deeper system integrations: Further enhancements will tie OPTICS into tools like CityWorks (an asset management system), Samsara for vehicle telemetry, and GeoPORT, the Ports’ enterprise GIS founded on Esri’s ArcGIS system, for deeper operational insights and efficiencies.
• Simulations and training: Use Unity for scenario planning, preparing staff for emergencies such as fires and explosions.
• Expansion to other departments: With future enhancements they plan to leverage OPTICS with departments outside of security.

A blueprint for innovation

“The collaboration between the Port of Corpus Christi and The Acceleration Agency is a lighthouse for organizations seeking to maximize their investment in active, geospatial digital twins,” says Rex Hansen, Product Manager at Esri. The OPTICS Port of Corpus Christi active digital twin stands as a powerful example of how advanced technology can transform complex operations.

For other ports – or even airports, utilities, smart stadiums, and municipalities – interested in adopting 3D active digital twins, Kjell Kolstad, VP Partnerships and Business Development, The Acceleration Agency, offers an encouraging perspective. “The integrations that we have now successfully implemented in partnership with one port, other ports could benefit from as well. Any Esri customer could take this system and transport their real-time data streams into a digital twin displayed in a visually stunning interface,” he explains.