Circet rolls out fibre for Port of Antwerp-Bruges drone network

Port of Antwerp-Bruges launches world's first network of inspection drones. Circet laid the fibre network for the control centre.

World's first drone network launched by Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Since the beginning of May, six autonomous drones have been performing daily security flights over the Antwerp port area. Never before has a drone network of this scale been built in a complex industrial environment. Circet fitted the control centre with fibre optics and connected everything to the Proximus network.

Six autonomous drones are now circling above the Port of Antwerp-Bruges covering an area of about 120 km2: a world first. The consortium partners working with the Port of Antwerp include Limburg drone builder DroneMatrix, Brussels air traffic management specialist SkeyDrone and telecom operator Proximus. 

© Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Autonomous drones inspect the port area

During their inspection flights, the six drones perform safety checks on the facilities. They also inspect quay walls, berths and other port infrastructure to spot damage. In addition, they detect oil spills and floating waste, collect images of incidents, and so on. The drone inspections are automatic, efficient and thorough, and save a lot of human travel within the port area. 

These are so-called BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) drone flights, which means that the pilot cannot see the exact location of his or her drone. Never before have BVLOS flights been deployed on such a large scale in a complex industrial environment such as a port. 

Circet lays fibre optics for control centre 

The drone network – which has been given the name D-Hive drone-in-a-box – is remotely controlled from a Command & Control Centre in the heart of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Circet played a part in getting the nerve centre up and running. 

Project manager Bram De Ceurt: “Our teams pulled the fibre optic cables and then connected to the Proximus network. From the first site visits and the permits to the actual connections, this challenging project took a year to complete.” 

© Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Help build the port of the future

“The drone project for Port of Antwerp-Bruges doesn't just appeal to the imagination; it is also a good example of a fibre project in a B2B environment,” comments our sales director Stijn Baert. “Circet is best known for the roll-out of fibre-to-the-home, which has gained serious traction since last year. But Circet is also helping to build the vital infrastructure of tomorrow in the business world.”

“For this particular B2B project, we are helping to build the port of the future,” concludes Stijn. “After all, Port of Antwerp-Bruges makes smart use of new technology to create a safe working environment and at the same time reduce its carbon footprint.”