Sep 28, 2004 12:05 PM, from staff and wire reports

Tideworks Technology Inc and Camco Technologies have successfully implemented optical character recognition (OCR) technologies at Pier A in Long Beach CA. This announcement was made in conjunction with the 93rd annual convention of the American Association of Port Authorities in Long Beach.

OCR technologies offer enhanced efficiency and greater productivity for the terminal operator at the gates. Cameras housed within an OCR portal capture digital images of container, chassis, and tractor license. Captured information automatically populates gate transaction forms within the Mainsail Terminal Management System, thus streamlining data entry while simultaneously increasing data accuracy and reliability.

The OCR system developed by the Tideworks-Camco partnership can process more than 500 trucks per hour, per portal. Its accuracy is in excess of 98% and 95% for container number and chassis number, respectively. Implementation of the Tideworks-Camco OCR system was achieved with minimal interruption to terminal operations.