Falmouth Harbour launches AI pilot

The initiative, backed by a £65,000 grant from Innovate UK, marks the first use of AI-powered monitoring in a UK harbour using existing CCTV infrastructure.

“The Innovate UK funding allows us to embrace the exciting new world of AI,” said Miles Carden, chief executive of Falmouth Harbour.

“If this pilot with RoboK proves successful, the benefits could be extended to ports and marine operations across the UK. It’s efficient, cost-effective and the upskilling of our team is an added bonus.”

The new Harbour-AI platform developed by RoboK uses computer vision and machine learning to track vessel movements, detect unusual activity, assess environmental risks and issue real-time alerts to Falmouth Harbour staff — all while ensuring GDPR compliance.

Use cases include monitoring vessel anchoring in sensitive marine habitats such as seagrass beds, detecting suspicious or abnormal behaviour and analysing trends in vessel traffic and speed.

RoboK, a University of Cambridge spinout, sees Falmouth as an ideal testbed. “Falmouth Harbour is the perfect partner – a busy, complex environment with a team eager to innovate,” said RoboK chief executive Hao Zheng.

“Our AI turns passive CCTV into active intelligence, helping improve operational awareness and safety decision-making.”

Falmouth Harbour has been awarded £6,500 for its role in the pilot, part of RoboK’s wider £85,000 project. The initial trial will run for six months.