On July 1st, Irina Di Ruocco, PhD (University of Trieste and Adriafer Rail Services) presented the paper “Port-System-Innovation: a comprehensive model for freight railway digital automation. A case study of Trieste port, Italy.” — co-authored with Marco Mazzarino (CFLI/University IUAV) — during the Smart Ports workshop at 25th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, held in Istanbul.
The paper proposes a holistic model to integrate predictive maintenance in freight rail operations at ports. It goes beyond the technical layer, considering territorial, innovation, geographic, and seaport dimensions to guide smart automation strategies. Based on the case of the Port of Trieste, one of the use cases of AUTOSUP, the model also outlines replicability potential for other logistics hubs across Europe.
This work demonstrates that reflecting on technologies also means engaging with territorial development — not only in terms of performance and economic outcomes, but also through institutional dynamics and learning processes.