Illegal activities across external borders (land and maritime) are a threat to the security of the European Union. Better border surveillance capabilities are required to deter and monitor irregular border crossings. These should be interoperable across member states, ranging from the Mediterranean to the Nordic Countries, which have different border surveillance challenges. These should also be scalable, flexible and relocatable, since the needs along borders shift rapidly in time, with changing and improving threats. SEAGUARD project aims to address these needs. Situational awareness technologies will play a crucial role in the future of maritime border security by providing real-time information about the maritime environment, including vessel movements, cargo, and potential threats. The SEAGUARD project aims at developing an innovative and integrated approach to maritime cross-border surveillance that will enhance border security and management in Europe. The scope of this project includes the design, development, testing, and deployment of a cross-border surveillance system that will incorporate multiple sensing technologies integrated in both fixed and mobile platforms. This project will combine unmanned vehicles (Unmanned Aerial, Surface and Underwater Vehicles - UxVs), fixed buoys, (SMART) submarine cables, with advanced analytics and decision support. The system will be able to monitor and detect various types of threats, including illegal border crossings, smuggling of contraband, illegal fisheries and terrorist activities. The project will leverage new technologies and data analytics, enhanced by multi-domain autonomous cooperative platforms and multimodal communications, to provide real-time information and situational awareness to multiple border guards and other authorities, enabling them to detect and respond to potential threats coming from the air, surface or underwater, more effectively.

Building sector is responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. As nZEB becomes the new standard, the role of building materials and smart envelope systems is becoming more and more important. Exploit4InnoMat OITB will make available a high-end Open Innovation Testbed network for building envelopes including roofs and facades, enabling the replication of prototypes in different buildings taking into consideration the trade-offs between the three sustainability pillars, the life cycle stages as well as their impacts. End-User Market Needs for low-cost, flexible, on demand material-based solutions, which will be assessed through an extensive partnership knowledge on materials characterization and modelling, monitoring and process control, environmental and assessment, regulatory and standardization, social acceptance and innovation management, realizing for nZEB solutions. In order to achieve this target a wide range of expertise has been brought to the OITB covering fields such as Open Innovation Testbeds for nano enabled cement, non cement premixes and ceramics, advanced coatings and glazing solutions loaded with aerogel, fibers, PCMs and other nanomaterials providing multifunctional properties; pilot lines for nanodispersion, 3D printing and roboting spraying; as well as a network of four real scale living laboratories for nZEB technologies evaluation, will facilitate a realization tool for developing close to market technological solutions. Additionally, a semi-automated tool combining BIM analysis, fast track modelling and simulation will make enable a digital tool for utilizing building blocks (structural, solar thermal and BIPV) in order to create a harmonized and aesthetically pleasing urban environment.