blog | press release
Nearby Computing and the Universitat Politècnica de València drive intelligent orchestration of digital twins for the ports of the future
Barcelona, Spain, November, 2025
Nearby Computing, and the Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM) at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) have announced a strategic alliance to develop an advanced system for computing resource orchestration applied to digital twins in port environments.
The aim of the agreement is to optimise the dynamic management of distributed computing infrastructures — from IoT and edge to cloud — to enable real-time operation of digital twins, strengthening the technological competitiveness and sustainability of the smart ports of the future.
A pioneering IoT–Edge–Cloud orchestration project
The project involves the design, implementation, deployment, and validation of an IoT–edge–cloud orchestration platform capable of dynamically managing computing resources, applications, and 5G connectivity solutions located in the cloud or at the edge.
Its main features include load optimisation, automatic scalability, and real-time monitoring of the entire infrastructure, both in industrial environments and in critical infrastructures.
Key areas of work
• Distributed and dynamic architecture: development of an advanced orchestration architecture that coordinates computing resources and applications across all levels of the infrastructure. The central component of this design is NearbyOne, Nearby Computing’s modular orchestration platform.
• Artificial Intelligence for orchestration: implementation of AI-based algorithms capable of autonomously configuring and managing the system’s resources and applications.
• Monitoring and operational efficiency: integration of advanced supervision mechanisms to assess infrastructure and application KPIs (computing capacity, latency, response time), identify bottlenecks, and automatically reconfigure resources.
• Sustainability and energy efficiency: thorough analysis of the energy consumption of the IoT–edge–cloud infrastructure, from edge nodes deployed at the port to cloud nodes, and the design of innovative mechanisms for its reduction.
“This project marks a milestone in the application of advanced orchestration technologies to port environments.”
“It enables us to combine academic expertise with Nearby Computing’s technological capabilities to advance towards the digitalisation and sustainability of the maritime-port sector.”
Prof. David Gómez-Barquero
Deputy Director of Research at iTEAM–UPV
“This collaboration allows us to move towards a smarter, more connected, and more sustainable port infrastructure, where resource orchestration becomes an essential tool for real-time decision-making.”
Dr Angelos Antonopoulos
Director of Innovation at Nearby Computing
Duration and funding
The project activities, with an estimated duration of 24 months, are being carried out within the framework of “Avanzando-5G-Digital-Twins”, an initiative funded by the UNICO 5G R&D Plan under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service with funds from the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Specifically, it is part of the project Avanzando-5G-Digital Twins: 5G-IoT Platform with Edge and Cloud Computing (TSI-063000-2021-112). This plan aims to strengthen collaboration between universities and technology companies, promoting the consolidation of Spain as a benchmark in digital innovation.
This project will lay the foundations for a new generation of smart ports, where digital twins become a strategic tool for predictive, efficient, and sustainable management of port operations.
Thanks to the intelligent orchestration of resources developed by Nearby Computing and the iTEAM–UPV, ports will be able to react in real time to any operational change, optimise the use of technological and energy infrastructure, and improve data-driven decision-making.
Ultimately, this collaboration will accelerate the digital transformation of the Spanish port ecosystem, providing it with greater autonomy, resilience and international competitiveness.
