MalcolmAI replaces fixed-camera OCR portals with an AI-powered mobile app that captures container IDs, chassis numbers, seals, license plates, and driver credentials — all in a guided workflow that takes less than a minute.
Traditional OCR portals cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, take months to install, and still can't see what matters most at the gate.
Fixed OCR portal installations run $200K–$500K+ per lane — steel gantries, specialized cameras, illuminators, cabling, and civil works. Smaller terminals and inland depots are priced out entirely.
Fixed-angle cameras are positioned for container markings and license plates. They physically cannot see the driver's license, container seals, or cab-mounted SCAC codes — critical data left uncaptured.
Weather, dirt, faded paint, sun glare, and motion blur plague traditional OCR. Industry studies report error rates between 10–30%, requiring constant manual intervention and clerk re-keying.
Portal installation requires lane closures, concrete work, and weeks of calibration. Every day of construction is a day of reduced throughput at the gate.
Adding new data capture fields means new hardware, new camera positions, new integration work. Fixed systems can't adapt to changing compliance requirements without costly retrofits.
Fixed portal cameras cannot capture driver's license or CDL information. This critical security and compliance data requires a separate manual process, adding time and introducing errors.
A guided mobile workflow walks the operator through each capture step with smart viewfinder overlays and instant AI validation.
Capture ISO 6346 markings — owner code, serial number, check digit, size/type codes, and weight information.
Photograph chassis ID with format validation for BIC-standard numbers — alpha prefix, suffix letter, and serial.
Capture vehicle plate with state or province identification — auto-extracted and cross-referenced.
Photograph security seal number and verify condition — confirming cargo integrity at the gate.
Capture CDL credentials for operator verification — a data point completely invisible to fixed cameras.
MalcolmAI captures more data, costs less to deploy, and adapts instantly — with no civil works, no lane closures, and no gantries.
| Capability | Fixed OCR Portals | MalcolmAI |
|---|---|---|
| Container ID (ISO 6346) | ✓ Supported | ✓ AI-validated with check digit |
| Chassis Number | ~ Sometimes, depends on angle | ✓ Dedicated capture with format validation |
| License Plate | ✓ LPR supported | ✓ With state/province extraction |
| Container Seal Number | ✗ Not accessible to fixed cameras | ✓ Close-range seal capture & verification |
| Driver's License / CDL | ✗ Not accessible to fixed cameras | ✓ Full credential capture & verification |
| Operational Marks (Weights) | ~ Limited by angle & OCR accuracy | ✓ Max gross, tare, payload — kg & lbs |
| Deployment Time | 3–6 months per lane | Same day — download and go |
| Cost Per Lane | $200K – $500K+ | Fraction of the cost — SaaS subscription |
| Infrastructure Required | Steel gantry, cameras, cabling, concrete | iPhone + cellular connection |
| Damage Inspection Photos | ~ Fixed angles only | ✓ Operator-directed, any angle |
| GPS Location Tagging | ✗ Fixed location only | ✓ Automatic GPS per transaction |
| Works Offline | ✗ Requires network | ✓ Queue & sync when back online |
Every feature is designed for the speed, accuracy, and ruggedness that container terminal and depot operations demand.
Advanced multimodal AI analyzes container images directly — no intermediate OCR step. Reads faded, dirty, or partially obscured markings that traditional OCR misses.
Every extraction is assigned a confidence score. Rare low-confidence items are automatically routed to a review queue for human verification.
All five photos upload and process concurrently. The entire set of data can be captured and validated in under a minute.
Network goes down? Keep scanning. Failed uploads persist on-device with automatic retry and background sync when connectivity returns.
Real-time container dashboard with review queue, image gallery, edit history, and comprehensive data management — accessible from any browser.
Complete edit history with timestamps, user attribution, and change tracking. Every correction and verification is permanently logged for compliance.
Every transaction is automatically tagged with GPS coordinates, creating a verifiable record of where and when each container was inspected.
JWT authentication, HTTPS everywhere, CORS protection, and role-based access. All data encrypted in transit and at rest on AWS infrastructure.
Built-in check digit algorithm, owner code validation, and size/type code decoding. Automatic flagging of non-compliant container identifiers.
MalcolmAI's integration service supports webhooks, REST APIs, and direct database adapters — pushing validated container data to your systems in real time.
Automatic push notifications with HMAC signatures, retry logic, and delivery audit logging.
Direct connectors for MSSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle — ideal for on-premise TMS systems.
Subscribe to container.created, container.updated, and chassis.analyzed events via AWS EventBridge.
VPN and AWS PrivateLink support for secure connections to on-premise infrastructure.
// Webhook payload — container.created event { "event": "container.created", "timestamp": "2026-02-15T14:30:00Z", "data": { "containerId": "MSCU4827103", "chassisNumber": "TRLZ456789", "licensePlate": "OH-BXT-4219", "sealNumber": "ML-84521", "driverCDL": "[verified]", "confidence": 0.94, "weights": { "maxGross": 30480, "tare": 3900, "payload": 26580 }, "location": { "lat": 41.4925, "lng": -81.6781 } } }
See how MalcolmAI can replace or augment your existing gate capture process. We'll walk you through a live demo with real container images.