OBSERVER: Driving innovation in border surveillance with Copernicus digital twins
OBSERVER: Driving innovation in border surveillance with Copernicus digital twins
evan
Mon, 06/01/2025 – 12:34
Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, supports EU Member States and Schengen-associated countries in managing the EU’s external borders and combating cross-border crime. To this end, it has established the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR), which includes a range of services, such as the EUROSUR Fusion Services, incorporating the Copernicus Border Surveillance Service (CBSS). In this context, Earth Observation (EO) services and products are used to assist with border monitoring.
External border control in the EU faces several significant challenges, shaped by a combination of geopolitical pressures, policy complexities, and operational difficulties. To ensure CBSS meets these and future challenges, Frontex is launching a new contest aimed at improving the service to better support the European border and coast guard community.
In this week’s Observer, we look at how Frontex and Copernicus services improve border security and explore the role of digital twin models in advancing border surveillance capabilities.
An officer at the Frontex Situation Centre monitors real-time situational data on multiple screens. Credit: Frontex.
Frontex and the EU Space Programme
The monitoring of EU external borders is crucial for internal security and the protection of European citizens. The Copernicus satellite missions play an important role in supporting this effort by providing satellite data which enables consistent monitoring of border areas over time.
Copernicus data helps Frontex achieve its primary objective: to increase situational awareness at the EU external borders by monitoring and mapping, as well as providing risk assessments to officers on the ground. In cooperation with the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) and other relevant stakeholders, Frontex supports national authorities in better detecting illegal migration at EU external borders, conducting rescues at sea, and combating cross-border crime.
Frontex has been implementing the Copernicus Border Surveillance Service component since 2015, when it signed the Delegation Agreement with the European Commission on the implementation of CBSS Component of the Copernicus Security Service.
Frontex supports national authorities in better detecting illegal migration at EU external borders, conducting rescues at sea, and combating cross-border crime. Credit: Frontex.
Advancing border security with Copernicus Services
Copernicus Services transform satellite and in situ data into geospatial data and numerical models, products, and applications, delivering timely and actionable information. These insights help service providers, public authorities, and other international organisations improve European citizens’ quality of life.
While Copernicus is a leader in Earth Observation, it requires continuous evolution to retain its global position and address the ever-changing environmental, emergency, and security challenges which we face. To achieve this, Copernicus must incorporate the latest scientific and technological knowledge. One strategy which Frontex is keen to implement involves using Copernicus data to create a digital twin model of the EU’s external borders.
Leveraging digital twins for smarter border management
A digital twin model of the EU’s external border regions provides a realistic and flexible platform for testing and simulation. By replicating real-world conditions, it allows officers and security agents to simulate specific scenarios—such as environmental hazards damaging infrastructure at the border or criminals trying to cross illegally—and plan effective responses. These simulations enable better resource allocation and improve preparedness for real-life situations.
Scalability and adaptability are amongst the main features of digital twins . They can adapt to represent diverse locations and conditions, remaining relevant across a wide range of environments, from riverbanks and shorelines to forests and mountainous regions. Another key strength of digital twins is their ability to integrate diverse geospatial data, such as Digital Surface Models (DSM) and high-resolution hydrological information. This data is combined into dynamic, multi-dimensional representations, which simulate real-life conditions and assess border permeability. By highlighting how natural features such as river depths, ice formation, or vegetation affect ease of movement and surveillance capabilities, digital twins provide insights to improve border monitoring strategies and optimise the deployment of surveillance and monitoring equipment in diverse scenarios.
A visual representation of a digital twin of a border region. Credit: Frontex.
Frontex CBSS Evolution prize contest for digital twin solutions
To develop the capabilities of the Copernicus Border Surveillance Service (CBSS), improve security monitoring, emergency threat management, and operational planning, Frontex is launching a contest to develop digital twin solutions of EU external border areas.
In this contest, participants are tasked with developing Copernicus-based digital twin solutions which provide virtual representations of EU external border areas. These models will support the European border and coast guard community by enabling scenario simulations for operational exercises and technical equipment deployment planning.
Participants are invited to propose innovative solutions which improve the capabilities of the current Border Surveillance Service. Frontex will evaluate submissions based on key criteria, including the timeliness, data accessibility, advancements in data fusion, automation, and the integration of broader sets of complementary EO and non-EO data. Solutions are also expected to demonstrate their feasibility for improving the monitoring of security and emergency threats at regional or local levels using simulation scenarios.
The Digital Twin is expected to support the European border guard community in operational exercises. Credit: Frontex.
Frontex will provide industry participants with the opportunity to deploy and test their proposed technological solutions in a simulated testing environment, replicating a section of an EU external land border. Applicants interested in participating are required to submit their applications in accordance with the requirements outlined in the Rules of Contest.
The contest will be organised in three distinct phases, with the deadline for the initial submission of proposals set for 12 February 2025.
Mon, 06/01/2025 – 12:00
