How can border control for third-country nationals traveling across the EU become faster and more efficient? The practical answer to this question was the primary goal of the iBorderCtrl initiative.
The EU-funded project started on 1 September 2016 and ended on 31 August 2019. It focused on land border crossing points: roads, walkways, and train stations. The main objective of iBorderCtrl was to impact the development of technologies that would facilitate the work of border and customs authorities, expedite border crossing processes, and enhance security and trust in border control checks.
The project presented a combination of an optional, improved version of a Registered Traveller Programme and an auxiliary solution for the Entry/Exit System that counted on involving real travelers.
The comprehensive system, which iBorderCtrl designed and tried out, enables travelers to pre-register while allowing operators to make use of portable units at land border crossing points.
The project involved border control police officers from Hungary, Latvia, and Greece. Thus, the iBorderCtrl solution was developed under their requirements and guidance. During the experiment, both border guards and border managerial staff were trained and assisted with their helpful input.
The specific objectives of the project were :
a) To notably improve the efficiency in terms of traveler rapidness at the border as well as security in terms of remarkably fewer successful illegal crossings; b) To decrease travel cost and time spent at the border by allowing travelers to use personal devices and operators to utilize portable units; c) To launch a pre-registration step to inform travelers better about their rights, travel procedures, and data collected in compliance with EU and national legal requirements; d) To raise flexibility and decrease workload and personal human agent errors; e) To improve fair control with automated non-invasive mechanisms that save time; f) To offer a more powerful and efficient land border control platform.
iBorderCtrl Innovations
The iBorderCtrl research system counted on combining a large number of technical innovations. Apart from the functionalities corresponding to border checks conducted at present (inspection of travel documents or validation of traveler identity), iBorderCtrl would provide the following additional innovations:
- Pre-arrival registration of travelers befor them reaching the border: the verification procedures occur in advance.
- Evaluation of deceit attempts on behalf of border agents about the data specified during the pre-arrival registration (trip purpose, length of stay, etc).
- Personalized Avatar agent: the option to personalize the avatar agent that carries out the interview according to the traveler’s gender and language.
- New advanced biometric technologies introduction: face matching combined with palm vein scanning.
- Prediction of traveler’s movement at the border crossing locations: statistics and trends facilitated with improved planning and assignment of resources.
- Analysis of historical data for advancing border management and detection of patterns of illegal border crossings.
- Flexible risk assessment of travelers: multi-criteria risk assessment to help the decision-making process of border guards.
If you are eager to learn more about the iBorderCtrl system, here is a useful video:
Project Promotion, Communication, and Awareness Rising
Since the start of the project, the iBorderCtrl consortium has been actively advertising the project innovation. Many project publications had an excellent outcome, reaching high visibility. Additionally, iBorderCtrl prototypes were presented at some of the most popular events. As a result, iBorderCtrl was recognized among the general public, the scientific community, policymakers, and industry officials.
During the second reporting period, the project showed significant growth in social media followers and website visits. Many press organizations reached out to the consortium asking to elaborate on the innovations offered by iBorderCtrl, the anticipation of their future implementation, and potential collaborations.
iBorderCtrl Conclusion
To expedite the process of crossing borders, the iBorderCtrl research system brought together various interdisciplinary modules into a single system. The key components were a pre-registration step, the use of a portable device, a centralized advanced analytics platform that manages the safe collection, flow, and analyses of data to improve precision at the individual crossing level as well as event prediction and resource utilization.
Throughout the entire process, the Risk-Based Assessment Tool utilized all available data and leveraged various stages and checks to classify travelers according to risk, ultimately assisting the decision-making of the border guard.
In addition, the system was created to respect and enhance transparency for travelers, as well as their ownership and control over their data, fundamental rights, and the overall quality and enjoyment of their border crossing experience.
