Fancy Software Brings the Panama Canal Into the 21st Century

Every day, more than 40 container ships pass through the Panama Canal. They chug over the narrow isthmus separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, navigating three sets of multi-chambered locks that carry them uphill to an enormous lake 90 feet above sea level. After crossing that, another network of locks lowers them to the opposite coast. The trip, which can take a full day depending on traffic, requires the careful choreography of skilled freighter pilots, tugboats, and the immense doors that separate each lock. As with most things these days, software keeps everything moving smoothly, but this most impressive feat of civil engineering relies upon a hodgepodge of systems added piecemeal over the decades.