H2020: Secure societies: Security for smart and safe cities, including for public spaces | CDE Almería – Centro de Documentación Europea

This call (SU-INFRA02-2019) aims to strengthen the security of intelligent cities, with an emphasis on public spaces, and is part of the Secure societies- Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens sub-programme of the Horizon 2020 Programme.

In the cities, public spaces such as malls, open crowded gathering areas and events, and non-restricted areas of transport infrastructures, constitute “soft targets”, that is potential, numerous targets spread across the urban area and subject to “low cost” attacks strongly impacting the citizens. The generation, processing and sharing of large quantities of data in smart cities make urban systems and services potentially more responsive, and able to act upon real-time data. On the one hand, smart cities provide for improving the security of open and crowded areas against threats (including terrorist threats) and risks, by leveraging wide networks of detection and prevention capabilities that can be combined with human response to crisis to enhance first responders’ actions. On the other hand, the distinct smart technological and communication environments (urban, transport infrastructures, companies, industry) within a smart city require a common cybersecurity management approach.

Objective

The security and good operation of a smart and safe city relies on interconnected, complex and interdependent networks and systems: public transportation networks, energy, communication, transactional infrastructure, civil security and law enforcement agencies, road traffic, public interest networks and services offered by public and private operators.

Such networks provide with an efficient infrastructure for detection resources and “big data” collection. The screening of such data are being used by security practitioners to enhance their capabilities and performances. For instance, crowd protection and the security of public and government buildings can be improved through the identification of threats or of crime perpetrators, and the early detection of dangerous devices or products; first responders may get quicker on site by calculating in real time the shorter possible route to the scene of disaster.

Proposals under this topic should develop and integrate experimentally, in situ, the components of an open platform for sharing and managing information between public and private service operators and security practitioners of a large, smart city. The proposed pilots should consider how to combine, inter alia:

Methods to detect weapons, explosives, toxic substances
Systems for video surveillance
Methods to identify, and neutralize crime perpetrators whilst minimizing intrusion into crowded areas