News

With the successful conclusion of our Living Labs workshop, we consider opportune to reflect on the progress and collaboration achieved over the past few days. Held between April 15th and April 19th in Varna, Bulgaria, the Living Labs workshop provided an ideal setting for immersive collaboration and experimentation. From setting up the required infrastructure to conducting valuable exercises based on the established use cases, the whole process has demonstrated our commitment to advancing border management and surveillance through innovation and teamwork.

Here’s a summary of the key highlights from our workshop:

• We kicked off the workshop with the equipment setup and integration of all components of the EURMARS platform. This crucial groundwork laid the foundation for the days ahead, ensuring that we were ready to deliver the planned testing scenarios.

• With our Living Labs fully operational, we engaged in a series of exercises focused on real-time vessel activity. Leveraging a multi-sensor approach, including vessel tracking data, ground-based cameras, UAV cameras, and high-resolution satellite imagery, we collected comprehensive data to enhance border management through the EURMARS digital platform.

Throughout the workshop, collaboration among our consortium partners has been at the heart of our success. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the valuable contributions and collaborative spirit of our whole team. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the partners of the EURMARS Consortium for their invaluable participation and unwavering support, which has been instrumental in the success of the Living Labs workshop.

The culmination of this workshop signifies a significant milestone, empowering the EURMARS digital platform with the capability to analyse and visualise data for available sensors, and demonstrating enhanced situation awareness and efficiency in identifying events of interest. Stay tuned for further updates as we persist in harnessing technology and collaboration to elevate standards across the border management domain.

On the 19th of February, the EURMARS project was showcased at the CERIS Workshop on Innovation for Maritime Situational Awareness and Security. The workshop provided a comprehensive overview of European research and innovative solutions, discussing further capability needs relevant for maritime border surveillance, search and rescue at sea, and maritime safety and security. Close to 15 European research projects presented their novel technological solutions to practitioners, policymakers, and fellow innovators alongside EURMARS.

This thematic CERIS Workshop aimed to present and discuss European research and innovative solutions, as well as further capability needs relevant to maritime situational awareness and security. The interested audience included practitioners, especially Coast Guards, as well as innovators and policymakers interested in capabilities such as search-and-rescue at sea, sea border surveillance, and other maritime security and safety functions.

The Workshop brought together updates on EU-funded projects featuring innovative European technologies in the field, from autonomous platforms to data fusion; presented experiences and opportunities for cooperative and integrated information management; and discussed how research results could be more efficiently exploited.

The EURMARS Project’s second plenary meeting took place in Cyprus on October 12 and 13, 2023, offering a valuable occasion for consortium members to meet in person and examine the developments achieved since the last plenary session. Throughout the two-day meeting, an in-depth review of progress within each Work Package and the associated milestones was undertaken.

Participants offered detailed insights into the tasks they lead and the performed and planned activities for each of the tasks.

The 1st Living Lab Workshop took place in Varna, Bulgaria from September 25th to 29th, 2023. It was structured around technical preparations and testing scenarios. On the first day, participants focused on registrations and technical familiarisation. The subsequent days were dedicated to technical briefings, and extensive technical preparations, including presentations from partners. Testing and scenario executions were conducted on the final days, with comprehensive data collection and rehearsals.

The event concluded with closing remarks, an after-action review, and wrap-up sessions before participants departed. Throughout the workshop, collaborative technical work, scenario rehearsals, and valuable discussions among attendees fostered a dynamic and productive environment, advancing our shared objectives in border management and surveillance innovation.

SKYLD LTD as a representative of the EURMARS Project at the iProcureNet Workshop had the chance to present the solution that will be developed during EURMARS project that could be of interest to the security sector.

During its annual meeting, the iProcureNet General Assembly organized a workshop that brought together a diverse range of participants, including internal and external stakeholders, as well as experts. The workshop took place in Nicosia, Cyprus on 11th – 12th of September and was convened to facilitate discussions centered on the research and solutions developed within the framework of addressing the innovation needs for the JCBPP (Joint Capability Building and Procurement Planning) project.

In addition to the esteemed members of the iProcureNet General Assembly and project stakeholders, the workshop extended its invitation to various groups:

• Representatives from H2020/Horizon Europe projects.
• Providers of innovative solutions.
• Experts in the field of procurement.

This workshop provided a platform for participants to exchange valuable insights pertaining to cutting-edge technologies and advancements within specific domains that the iProcureNet project has identified as particularly promising for the JCBPP initiative. These domains encompass:

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
• Border management solutions.
• Data fusion techniques.
• Mitigation strategies for wildfires.

Attendees had the opportunity to discuss not only the state of the art in these areas but also to explore the solutions that have been developed within other innovative projects.

We are delighted to share that the recent Projects to Policy Seminar that was held in Brussels on June 14 and 15, 2023, provided an invaluable platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange between newly launched projects and policy DGs. Organized by DG HOME and REA, the seminar facilitated engagement, fostering alignment between research efforts and policy priorities. Participants were grouped into four thematic areas, enabling focused discussions and enhancing the impact of the seminar. The four thematic areas where:

• Fighting crime and terrorism & Infrastructure (FCT/INFRA)
• Strengthened Security Research and Innovation (SSRI)
• Disaster-resilient societies (DRS),
• Border management (BM)

The aim was to raise awareness among the relevant policy DGs on the new projects that have been launched, as well as to provide guidance to these new projects regarding the policy-related outputs the policy DGs are interested in.

The EURMARS team was excited to share its progress, exchange knowledge, and receive guidance from policy experts during the seminar’s plenary sessions and thematic breakout discussions.

It provided a great opportunity for the EURMARS project to showcase its ground-breaking vision and present its innovative solutions for improving situational awareness and operational efficiency in border management.

A workshop on “The Ethics of Border Management Surveillance Technology” took place via webinar on the 15^th of June 2023. As experts in the ethics of new technologies, Trilateral Research was chairing the discussions on ethical, social, and legal implications of an EU Border Management Surveillance System.

The workshop was designed to bring together EURMARS project partners as specialists in the field of surveillance technology and border management, and civil society representatives focused on the protection of human rights, to discuss the latest developments and challenges in border management.

It was a great opportunity for project partners and other professionals to share perspective on the Ethics of Border Management Surveillance Technology and discuss to what extent these perspectives should be considered during EURMARS and/or other border management projects.

Topics that where discussed:

• EU Border Management: challenges and path going forward
• Overview of the EURMARS Project and its objectives
• Ethical and Social Implications of EU border Management Surveillance Systems
• Legal Framework and Best Practices for Border Management Surveillance Systems
• AI Act and its impact on border management surveillance technologies
• Best Practices for Border Management Surveillance

The EURMARS Project actively participated in the prestigious RISE-SD 2023 conference that took place in Rhodes, Greece on 29 – 31 May,2023. The “Research and Innovation Symposium for European SECURITY and Defense 2023” (RISE-SD 2023) is an international event stemming from previous initiatives, and aiming to bring together the European R&D communities in Civil Protection & Defense.

This symposium revolved around key topics crucial to our society’s safety and resilience:

• Civil Protection and Disaster-Resilient Societies
• Critical Infrastructures Resilience and Smart Cities
• Better protect the EU and its citizens against Crime and Terrorism
• Protection of Public Spaces
• Effective Management of EU External Borders
• Enhancing the defense capabilities of the EU
• Enhancing Cybersecurity
• Strengthened Security Research and Innovation

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology was present at the RISE-SD 2023 conference and had the privilege to showcase the EURMARS Project’s contribution in these domains, alongside with other esteemed experts and visionaries. The conference fostered insightful discussions, fruitful collaborations, and groundbreaking ideas.

SKYLD LTD as an exhibitor at the Cyprus Defence & Security Conference (CYPSEC) 2023 Nicosia representing one the companies in the Defense and Security industry in Cyprus, had the chance to present the EURMARS, (An advanced surveillance platform to improve the EURopean Multi Authority bordeR Security efficiency and cooperation) project to different exhibitors and visitors.

 Cyprus Defence & Security Conference (CYPSEC) 2023 Nicosia was held on 15-16 May 2023, in Nicosia – Cyprus.

The organization of the conference follows the new 5-year term of the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus and the corresponding appointments of new administration of the MoD & National Guard, the lifting of the US embargo and the new geopolitical issues in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region related to energy and not only, which will be high on the agenda for the next period of time.

The aim of the conference is to present the capabilities of the most modern and effective technology in Defense & Security matters to the new Cypriot authorities, in the context of today’s unstable international environment which is full of security challenges. Dealing with them requires, in addition to continuous diplomatic efforts, the exchange of knowledge and cooperation, especially with large technological players.

The conference was attended by the Ministry of Defence, the Chief and senior officials of the National Guard, representatives of ministries and other interested Cypriot authorities, representatives of EU member states, international organizations and the international defence industry.

The first EURMARS Plenary Meeting after the Kick-Off took place in Sofia, on March 21 and 22, 2023! It was great opportunity for the whole consortium to collaborate in person and discuss the latest advancements and developments in topics related to the project.