The BAG-INTEL project will provide robust AI based information utilization and decision support tools, within the context of advanced detection systems to support customs for increased effectiveness and efficiency of the customs control of air traveller baggage in inland border airports, while minimizing the human customs resources needed. This aim addresses the challenge of maintaining effective and efficient customs control of passenger baggage in the situation of the substantial growth of the volume of air travellers arriving in inland border airports with the limited human customs resources available. For this aim, the project will develop an integrated system solution comprising: (1) new AI powered functionality for enhanced detection of contraband in x-ray scanning of luggage, (2) AI camera based end-to-end reidentification of luggage, (3) digital twin for system visualisation and performance optimization for the operational context of an airport, (4) use case for test demonstration and evaluation in 3 European airports, a small, a medium sized, and a big airport, and (5) wide dissemination and elaboration of easy-to-use training material for end users. For the customs, BAG-INTEL solution aims to: increase the successful detection of contraband in luggage by at least 20%; demonstrate the possibility and utility in automatically to derive risk indicators from external data such as the Advanced Passenger Information; demonstrate the effectivity of AI camera based reidentification of luggage, when the traveller carries it into the customs space at the exit of the carousel area; increase the fluidity of passenger flow and control by at least 20%; decrease the customs personal resources mobilisation by at least 20%; derive data useful in flights risk assessment; derive data useful in flights risk assessment; demonstrate the autolearning capacity of this smart risk engine.

In EU a garment is worn an average of 3 times in its life, with €400 Bln lost a year discarding clothes which can still be worn and 92 Mln tons of waste, 87% of clothes ending up in landfills. But due to growing awareness on ethical and environmental impacts, 66% of consumers are ready to pay more for sustainable products . TRICK will provide a complete, SME affordable and standardised platform to support the adoption of sustainable and circular approaches: it will enable enterprises to collect product data and to access to the necessary services on a dedicated marketplace, open to third party solutions. TRICK demo will be run in 2 highly complex and polluting domains: textile-clothing as main pilot and perishable food for replication. EC estimates that up to 10% of the 88 million tons of food waste generated annually in the EU are linked to date marking, with associated costs estimated at €143 billion. Secured traceability will rely on the data needed for the preferential certification of origin (PCO), used for duty calculation. It will be certified by Customs as member of the consortium, representing anti fraud public forces. The data extracted by the fiscal documents for the PCO will be integrated with the bill of materials, saved in the Blockchains (BC) per each lot of production to grant traceability continuity, and with the additional ones to enable the six services provided by TRICK: traceability, circular assessment, PEF, health and social assessment, A.I. for anti counterfeting. BC will secure information through the whole process, ending to consumers for informed purchasing. Data confidentiality and privacy will be granted by the exploitation of Blockchains smart contracts while the adoption of different technologies will be solved by the development of Blockchain interoperability connectors between the two BC providers. End users will cover the whole TC value chain, from raw materials to recycling.

Efficient NII (non-intrusive inspection) of containerised freight is critical to trade and society. Freight containers are potential means for smuggling (e.g. tobacco), illegal immigration, trafficking of drugs, mis-declared goods and dangerous illicit substances, including explosives, nuclear material, chemical and biological warfare agents and radioactively contaminated goods. One inspection NII technology cannot cope with all these targets. The C-BORD Toolbox and Framework will address all these targets and enable customs to deploy comprehensive cost-effective container NII solutions to potentially protect all EU sea- and land-borders, satisfying a large range of container NII needs. The C-BORD Toolbox will include 5 complementary innovative detection technologies: delivering improved X-rays, Target Neutron Interrogation, Photofission, Sniffing and Passive Detection. User interfaces and data will be integrated to optimise effectiveness and efficiency of end-users and systems. The C-BORD Framework will help customs analyse their needs, design integrated solutions, and optimise the container inspection chain; it will address detection levels, false alarm levels, throughput, health & safety, logistics and cost & benefits. C-BORD will increase the probability of finding illicit or dangerous content with at least equal throughput of containers per time unit, reduce the need for costly, time-consuming and dangerous manual container inspections by customs officials, and in case a container is opened, increase the probability of finding illicit materials. C-BORD involves stakeholders from 8 EU countries, as partners (5) and advisory group members (3). On 3 custom sites integrated solutions will be trialled, respectively addressing the needs of big seaports, small seaports and mobile land-borders. To optimise sustainable impact, C-BORD will actively engage with a large community, will support policy implementation, evolution and start early exploitation planning.

BODEGA for Proactive Enhancement of Human Performance in Border Control BODEGA project will investigate and model Human Factors in border control to provide innovative socio-technical solutions for enhancing border guards’ performance of critical tasks, support border management decision-making, and optimize travellers’ border crossing experience. BODEGA will develop a PROPER toolbox which integrates the solutions for easy adoption of the BODEGA’s results by stakeholders in border control. PROPER toolbox which will integrate ethical and societal dimensions to enable a leap of border control towards improved effectiveness and harmonisation across Europe. The PROPER tools will be co-designed and thoroughly validated with relevant stakeholders and end-users. The work will be carried within the framework of Responsible Research and Innovation to ensure the ethical and societal compatibility of the project work and provided solutions as well as emphasis on the foreseen future with smarter borders. With its focus on in-depth understanding of the human factors in border control and PROPER toolbox, BODEGA will enable a leap of European border guard culture towards professionalism. BODEGA validated, modular and flexible toolbox will enhance the performance of border control stakeholders - border guards, border authorities and citizens - to create more secure, efficient and effective border crossing, focusing on the borders between Schengen agreement and external countries. A holistic view of the Human Factors with respect to the Smart Borders will be developed. The project focuses on human and organizational factors of border control technologies and processes and examines the effects of introducing innovative technologies into key border guard tasks, traveller’s performance and behaviour and to the total system at different levels and at different border control types: rail, sea and air borders.