CVG leads on significant technological workstreams across a range of interdisciplinary national and international research projects, achieving recognised ground-breaking innovations and significant impact worldwide.
The current list of funded projects in CVG are as follows:
| Project | Auto Border
Innovating Secure and Efficient Border Management Through Vehicle-Integrated Technologies |
| Funder | Horizon Europe (European Commission) |
| Duration: | September 2025 – August 2028 |
| Overview: | AutoBorder focuses on developing and implementing innovative solutions for border checks specifically designed for vehicles. The approach leverages cutting-edge technologies, including advanced biometrics and in-car sensors integrated with the car’s Infotainment and Control Electronics (ICE) system, to streamline the border crossing process. By utilizing Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs) and pre-registration systems, the project aims to enhance security while significantly reducing waiting times at land borders.Beyond border checks, the technology enhances passenger security through identity monitoring, real-time alerts for unauthorized access, and predictive analytics for threat detection. This dual-purpose approach improves identity verification and passenger safety during travel, advancing security and connectivity across Europe.
Leading actors in several relevant fields actively participate in the project, including biometrics and security experts, car manufacturers and researchers. The project builds on prior EU initiatives (e.g. SMILE, D4FLY, EINSTEIN) and, as a RIA project, targets a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5–6 for most components, with some at TRL4. Validation and demonstration will occur in relevant environments, not connected to actual border systems. Solutions must comply with GDPR, the AI Act, EU travel regulations, and other legal and ethical standards. A dedicated legal/ethical partner will ensure compliance, while social aspects like acceptance and human rights will be addressed. |
| Further Details: | EC CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101225829 |
| Project Website: | Coming Soon |
| Project | CarMen
Biometric Solutions for Continuous Border Control |
| Funder | Horizon Europe (European Commission) |
| Duration: | September 2023 – August 2027 |
| Overview: | Lower-quality live biometric data and the limited time to read ePassports are significant challenges for ‘on-the-move’ biometrics. Additionally, fully automated biometric border control solutions, even when a stop is allowed, are currently used only for pedestrians in controlled environments. The EU-funded CarMen project aims to develop biometric solutions for the continuous border control of both pedestrians and vehicles, with a focus on fraud detection, compliance with legal and ethical standards, and privacy protection. The project will implement a two-step authentication process using Near Infrared (NIR) and RGB live biometric images. To safeguard against data injection attacks, CarMen will use Digital Traveller Credentials (DTC). The project will demonstrate these solutions at the UK-France border. |
| Further Details: | EC CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101225829 |
| Project Website: | https://carmen-horizon.eu/ |
| Project | EINSTEIN
Interoperable applications suite to enhance European identity and document Security and fraud detection |
| Funder | UKRI Underwrite (European Commission) |
| Duration: | January 2024 – December 2026 |
| Overview: | Identity and travel document fraud pose challenges for law enforcement and border control agencies. Despite technological advancements, highly skilled fraudsters continue to exploit vulnerabilities. Previous European innovation projects have struggled to transition to operational effectiveness. In this context, the EU-funded EINSTEIN project aims to step up the fight against identity fraud. Specifically, it will focus on public authorities’ capabilities with six cutting-edge applications. These include real-time biometric checks for online ID issuance and mobile document verification via smartphones. Piloting in diverse environments ensures operational readiness. Interoperability and privacy-by-design principles are core, ensuring compliance with varying national regulations. By harnessing advanced technologies and prioritising privacy, EINSTEIN is helping to win the fight against identity fraud across Europe. |
| Further Details: | EC CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101225829 |
| Project Website: | https://einstein-horizon.eu/ |
| Project | EURMARS
An advanced surveillance platform to improve the EURopean Multi Authority BordeR Security efficiency and cooperation |
| Funder | Horizon Europe (European Commission) |
| Duration: | October 2022 – September 2025 |
| Overview: | Security risks and threats in the maritime domain are becoming increasingly more complex day by day. Within the EU there have been significant increases in irregular migration flows and human trafficking and smuggling but also of other illegal activities, such as drugs and arms trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and –according to the FRONTEX “Risk Analysis for 2021” report- the challenge becomes even bigger.
The European Union Maritime Security Strategy, and other EU initiatives such as EUROSUR and CISE, highlight that closer collaboration between authorities at national, regional and EU levels can constitute the key action to increase both situational awareness and operational efficiency. In particular, there is increased interest in assessing the viability of multi-authority cooperation in (especially high altitude) sensing and capability advancement for enhanced wide area surveillance of land, air and sea borders. EURMARS’s ground-breaking vision is to expand the common risk assessment practices currently deployed by authorities to enable the development, deployment and evaluation of a secure multitasking surveillance platform that improves sensing capabilities for a wide range of security risks and threats in wider border areas by clustering high altitude platforms technology, satellite imagery, UxVs and ground-based sensors into a novel joint surveillance capability. As part of the EURMARS framework, the various existing and future systems for maritime surveillance will be integrated, to allow for the collaborative operation and the provision of the sensing results to related authorities. The open architecture will build on the lessons learnt of previous initiatives, assimilate the knowledge of the stakeholders and their practice on CISE and other relevant systems, exploit the latest AI, risk assessment and visualization innovations, and undergo extensive technical and user acceptance tests and ethical and legal impact assessments. |
| Further Details: | EC CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101225829 |
| Project Website: | https://eurmars-project.eu/ |