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Scientists are building AI-powered tools to monitor seabed networks and protect vital data and energy links. © Vismar UK, Shutterstock.com
ICT  |  Security
Guarding Europe’s hidden lifelines: how AI could protect subsea infrastructure

EU-funded researchers are developing AI-powered surveillance tools to protect the vast network of subsea cables and pipelines that keep the continent ...

Researchers pioneer new ways to fight wildfires, combining smart technology and local knowledge. © Steve Photography, Shutterstock.com
Agriculture  |  Environment  |  Security
Fighting fire with innovation: a pan-European push to tackle extreme wildfires

EU-funded researchers, firefighters and communities are pioneering innovative, collaborative approaches to build landscapes able to withstand ...

Researchers help European maritime authorities handle issues like security threats and smuggling. © muratart, Shutterstock.com
Security  |  Transport
EU enlists researchers’ support to tackle smuggling and security threats at sea

Researchers, national authorities and the EU work together to address maritime challenges like smuggling, illegal fishing and security threats.

Hackathons are events where people collaborate to develop new software. Image credit – Flickr/ Sebastiaaan ter Burg
ICT  |  Security  |  Open Innovation
Police turn to hackathons as crime fighting goes digital

Police and law enforcement staff are turning to hackathons – collaborative events for developing technology – to come up with new ways of searching for clues within the terabytes of data that many people produce every year.

Police forces are testing hidden cameras to catch crimes in rural areas. Image credit – Jonathan Hutchins and licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 2.0
ICT  |  Security
Cameras with inbuilt detective skills to catch rural criminals

Smart cameras hidden in the countryside could soon help police fight back against rural crime and finally bring down secret smuggling routes.

Once they’re ready, electronic sniffer dogs and neutron-emitting machines will quickly be able to check containers for illegal substances. Credit: Flickr/ www.GlynLowe.com
Security
Beyond X-rays - the new inspection tools to thwart smugglers

Criminals who want to smuggle dangerous or illegal substances into Europe could soon find themselves foiled by a new set of high-tech anti-smuggling tools including an electronic sniffer dog and a machine that fires part of an atom at shipping containers.

Biofilms are colonies of bacteria that can live on implants and cause infections, yet are resistant to antibiotics. Image credit: ‘Biofilm sur vasePortAuray’ by F.Lamiot is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Health  |  Security
Marine organisms enlisted in battle against bacterial sheets

A mother and daughter team believe they can fight bioterrorism and antibiotic resistance using natural substances found in the ocean. 

The MV Faina cargo ship was hijacked by pirates in 2008. Image credit: ‘MV-Faina-Pirates’ by the U.S. Navy is in the pubic domain
Transport  |  Security
Thermal cameras sweep the horizon as pirate scanners trialled

It looks like a standard radar screen, but the technology behind the red flashing dots that alert the crew of an ocean tanker to the presence of pirates is highly sophisticated.

Tsunamis are low-frequency but high-impact natural disasters. Image credit: Pixabay/ Unsplash
Environment  |  Security  |  Open to the World
Scientists investigate how to defend Europe against tsunamis

The damage that tsunamis could cause is expected to rise due to climate change, say researchers who are developing a tsunami early warning system for Europe and investigating the best way to reduce their impact on people and buildings. 

Every digital camera leaves a unique mark on its pictures, which researchers are using in forensics and to verify copyrights. Image credit: CC0
ICT  |  Security
The hidden pattern within your digital camera

Humans have always looked for deeper meaning in imagery; from Disney films, to religious iconography, and the Mona Lisa’s crooked smile. But there is, in fact, a pattern hidden in every digital photograph and video frame — image fingerprints that are being put to novel uses in social media, mobile authentication and criminal forensics.

Researchers are looking to the sky to find ways to help search and rescue teams after a disaster. Image credit: ‘L'Aquila eathquake prefettura’ by TheWiz83 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
ICT  |  Security  |  Open Innovation
Quake, storm or fire? Airborne tech is coming to the rescue

After a natural disaster strikes, emergency workers can often struggle to cope with destroyed buildings obstructing routes to injured people, fires engulfing entire forests at a bewildering rate, and storms blinding search and rescue operations. 

A new smartphone app could use the power of a crowd to return a stolen bike to its owner. Credit: Pixabay/ natefarr
Security  |  Open Innovation
How a smartphone could find your stolen bike

Your smartphone could become part of a city-wide safety network that can track down stolen goods and warn you if you’re about to enter a crime hotspot.

Drones can detect landmines faster than people with metal detectors. Image courtesy of TIRAMISU
Security  |  Open to the World
How to speed up landmine clearance

A surveying device that spotted a group of children playing just 50 metres from a landmine is part of a new suite of tools that could help improve and speed up the mine-clearing process.

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