Portugal participates in European project to improve surveillance of maritime borders
A source of the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering – Technology and Science (INESC TEC) told Agência Lusa (Portuguese news agency) today that project SUNNY, co-financed by the European Commission, will be presented in Portugal at a workshop that will take place on 30 May, at the 4th edition of the Sea Forum.
The workshop, which will be attended by representatives of the project’s partners, will promote a discussion on the operational need to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in security operations in maritime borders and spaces.
Project “Smart UNattended airborne sensor Network for detection of vessels used for cross border crime and irregular entrY (SUNNY)” will be developed for 42 months and will contribute to the goals of the European border surveillance system (EUROSUR).
Project SUNNY will develop the low-cost interoperable technical capacities, in particular to detect and follow small vessels used by illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.
According to the deputy director for research at the BMT Group and manager of project SUNNY, Rory Doyle, “the scale and the geographical distance of some borders, both on land and in the sea, represent a complex challenge for national authorities. This challenge is exacerbated by the lack of human resources available to deal with these tasks and to achieve the required levels of efficiency. By improving the sensors and the capacity to transmit data, as well as the processing of data in real time, project SUNNY will make it possible to overcome these challenges.”
According to the project managers, the SUNNY will define new tools that make it possible to collect information in real time in operation scenarios where a lot of the development work is based on information processing and on onboard processing in order to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
With 18 partners, SUNNY represents “a step forward relatively to the existing research projects” due to a set of features, such as a network of sensors for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with two levels, which will be developed to test the capacities for focused surveillance or in large fields of vision. These vehicles will be used as soon as flights are authorised in non-segregated areas.
“With project SUNNY, our goal is not only to improve the efficiency of the aerial sensors used today, but also to promote a more integrated approach for the technologies used and the communication systems required. This way, the project will equip the EU and its member states with advanced tools for border protection and to prevent cross-border crimes,” Rory Doyle adds.
