Please pardon the mess
This case study is under construction — some sections may be incomplete or a little messy
COAST
Student Project
Smart seaport management platform that uses AI to cut emissions, reduce costs, and boost efficiency using existing infrastructure.
MY ROLE
Project Manager
UI Designer
DURATION
20 weeks
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam, Rhino, KeyShot, Adobe Suite, ChatGPT, Perplexity
COLLABORATORS
Kaleigh Mackey, Austin Joseph, Pingyao Wan, Krishna Aggarwal, Emiliano Mirafuentes Resendez
Highlights
TL;DR
COAST (Clean Oceans and Sustainable Transport) is an AI-powered energy optimization platform for U.S. seaports. It helps ports reduce emissions, fuel waste, and operational costs by turning existing sustainability infrastructure into actionable insights. By unifying data from smart meters, shore power, fleet logs, sensors, and more, COAST delivers real-time visibility, predictive recommendations, and measurable climate outcomes—without the need for new, heavy, and expensive infrastructure.
Attach Axon to the equipment's main power line
Data is sent from Axon to Neuro via cloud IoT system
Manage equipment's live status, data, and reports on Neuro 24/7
Nominated by University, Awaiting Result
International Design Awards 2025
Research
METHODS
10
weeks of focused primary & secondary research
9
in-depth user interviews
10
usability tests
SECONDARY RESEARCH
PRIMARY RESEARCH GOALS
GOAL #1
Understand current energy and fuel management workflows at seaports.
GOAL #2
Identify pain points in data access and decision-making.
GOAL #3
Gauge receptiveness to AI-driven recommendations and automation.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Recruiting relevant interview participants was incredibly challenging due to our initially broad scope and the limitations on the amount of federal information that can be shared with external parties. However, because of our personal and professional connections, we were able to talk to:
5
environmental experts
+
4
federal port employees
=
362
unique data points
From our environmental expert interviews, our key takeaways were…
We only have a few more years to get rid of harmful carbon practices before we cause irreparable harm to the planet.
Overly alarmist climate narratives can be misleading and counterproductive.
Businesses prioritize financial stability over environmental efforts.
The Earth must be considered a stakeholder. Environmental concerns should be prioritized alongside economic and human interests.
Climate risks for seaports are highly localized.
Start small: Global climate change feels overwhelming.
From our federal port employee interviews, our key takeaways were…
Shore power offers a tangible, immediate reduction in emissions, while the transition to alternative fuels remains a long-term, complex challenge.
Electrification is currently the most feasible clean energy transition for ports in 2025, but it is incredibly expensive.
Despite potential, advanced technologies like AI are underutilized, with current operations largely dependent on manual processes.
Many climate and sustainability initiatives (like port electrification) face skepticism if they don’t clearly demonstrate cost savings or economic benefits.
Any energy transition must ensure that port operations remain uninterrupted.
AI could help forecast electricity demand and optimize power use to reduce costs.
We were lucky to be able to talk to a key environmental voice who also served as a mentor for our project.
Tim Gallaudet
Fmr. Deputy Administrator, NOAA
Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral
CEO, Ocean STL Consulting
From Tim's interviews, our key takeaways were…
Optimization via AI allows seaports to not only be more green, but more efficient. By implementing AI into their work, ports could reduce fuel use, conserve energy, provide a more holistic outlook on operations.
There absolutely must be an economic incentive for the implementation of solutions. In order to gain government support for our solution, we must be able to frame our solution in terms of local and regional economic development.
While transitioning to renewable energy is essential for long-term sustainability, it is not an immediate, dramatic shift.
Frame climate change as an opportunity. Focus on solutions, not panic.
THE ISSUE
The path to electrification is unclear, leaving ports stuck between urgent climate goals and operational realities.
Analysis
EXISTING USER PAIN POINTS
Unable to pinpoint systems inefficiencies in real time
Frustrated by multiple unorganized data streams
Fearful of operational downtime
The cost of all new electric infrastructure is overwhelming
No clear ROI to electrification
Pressured to meet emission compliance deadlines
PROBLEM STATEMENT
U.S. Seaports are stuck using environmentally damaging practices for their daily operations, like gasoline-powered vehicles and machines, unsure of how to begin electrifying their day-to-day.
STAKEHOLDER MAP
If COAST were to go to market, we discovered that there are multiple organizations and agencies we would need to manage and/or keep informed.
TARGET AUDIENCE
INITIAL TARGET MARKET
U.S. Commercial Seaports
TARGET USERS
Operation Managers
Sustainability Directors
Infrastructure Monitoring Teams
Port Authorities & Executive Leadership
USER NEEDS
A single, unified dashboard to view fuel, energy, and emissions data across all equipment.
Automated monitoring tools that replace manual meter readings and spreadsheets.
Real-time alerts and predictions to catch idle/inefficient equipment before it becomes expensive.
Proof of ROI and overall savings to justify sustainable upgrades for grant opportunities and conversations with stakeholders.
?
HOW MIGHT WE…
create an innovative power solution that allows seaports to control their energy, leading to higher productivity, lower costs, and zero emissions?
?
HOW MIGHT WE…
consolidate existing data streams (smart meters, fuel logs, GPS traffic) into a single, intuitive interface and utilize AI for port operators?
OUR GOAL
Enable ports to fully realize the value of their existing infrastructure by providing a seamless, data-driven AI-powered platform that optimizes energy usage, tracks fuel levels, and reduces emissions.
Ideation
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE & USER FLOW
More process work to come!
This case study is under construction. However, check out the documents below to learn more about this project.
PRODUCT ECOSYSTEM
NEURO
Dark & Light Mode Functionality
Visualize the port’s current energy needs and usage while AI automatically adjusts power priorities to different operations
Visualize rich data from across different areas in the port and control the energy needs of any operation
AI suggests ways to optimize the port’s energy and reduce carbon footprint; accept, delay, or ignore every suggestion
Visualize the port's exact carbon emissions in every step of the supply chain and automatically generate reports
AXON
Control every Axon point using the Axon Map on Neuro
PRODUCT BENEFITS
WITH COAST,
CAN
VISION VIDEO