REACTION

REACTION aims to integrate, validate and demonstrate a fully functional, next-generation, holistic border surveillance and warning platform that provides situational awareness in remote, border areas as an effective means of early warning of critical situations. REACTION will also be connected to the already installed information platforms at the Reception & Identification Centers (RIC) and Fylakio (Evros) for preventive actions. Based on the results of three successful EU-funded projects (CERETAB, AIDERS and ROBORDER), a variety of unmanned vehicles and related operational equipment will be deployed using a simplified command scheme. Advances in artificial intelligence for detection, recognition and classification will enhance unmanned vehicle operations with a fully automated early detection system based on improved multimodal data fusion models. In addition, innovative solutions will be incorporated to facilitate the collection of information on high-risk incidents involving migrants.

An improved command and control platform will be set up to monitor all processes in real/near real time. REACTION will leverage application-specific algorithms and a new mapping platform to harness the large volume of data collected by Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs) through a variety of sensors (optical, thermal and multispectral cameras, LIDAR, etc.) and transform of this data into information useful for strengthening border surveillance and improving emergency response. The data collected from various sources (existing area monitoring systems, radars and unmanned vehicles) will be integrated – leveraging the (enhanced) Common Information Sharing Environment (e-CISE) developed in project ANDROMEDA (GA: 833881) and EUROSUR into sophisticated Command and Control (C2) systems that will allow shore and coastguard authorities to receive all the additional information necessary for their operations.

To deliver a fully functional system (Technology Readiness Level TRL-8), real operational scenarios will be defined, also taking into account previous projects, lessons learned and gaps identified in them, while being leveraged in testing realistic field conditions, in actual border areas.

ITI/CERTH has the role of the Technical Manager of the project and will be in close cooperation with the partners to monitor the achievement of the project objectives and ensure the correct execution of simulation exercises and evaluation tests. ITI/CERTH is also leading a Work Package on improved operational capabilities and services. More specifically, it will develop advanced computer vision and deep learning algorithms to analyze video streams from various sensors. It will also provide predictive analytics by adapting existing models to classify crises and illegal events, improving situational awareness through intelligent data enrichment and threat assessment techniques. In addition, ITI/CERTH will offer services for UAV automated missions planning and optimal resource allocation. Finally, ITI/CERTH is responsible for defining the architecture and technical requirements, ensuring smooth interaction between software components and adopting a modular approach for flexible integration.

Consortium

Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum (HMMA)
Hellenic Ministry of Citizen Protection / European and Development Programmes Agency (YDEAP), Greece
Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH), Greece
KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence – University of Cyprus (KIOS-UCY), Cyprus
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece
University of West Attica (UWA), Greece
Centre for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece
Cyprus Police (CP), Cyprus