Deadline: 23-Nov-21
European Commission is calling for proposals for Improved Detection of Concealed Objects On, and Within the Body of, Persons.
Scope
- Research under this topic will increase the capabilities to detect objects concealed on persons, or hidden inside the body of persons. The proposed technology should be able to detect concealments on moving persons and should be based on non-ionising approaches that provide necessary safety and privacy. Proposed solutions should be harmless for users and operators (avoiding ionizing radiation, and include the assessment of the risk of any kind of toxic substances and/or potentially harmful techniques), provide fast detection and include easily deployable devices.
- They should be able to detect weapons (including non-metallic weapons); explosives (combined or not with electronics), including homemade explosives (HMEs) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs); other threats and illicit goods such as drugs, tobacco or currency, concealed under or in the clothes or bags of individuals as well as within the individuals’ bodies. The need for such detection capabilities could be increasingly useful especially in contexts such as airports or ferry terminals where people board on foot or in vehicles, where a sufficient and efficient detection capacity will have to cope with substantial growth of passenger volume.
Funding Information
The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).
Expected Outcomes
Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:
- Improved capability of customs and border authorities, at land, sea and/or air border crossing points, to detect drugs, illicit goods, weapons, explosive and other threats concealed on individuals or within their bodies, in the operational environment of border crossing points;
- Safer, more efficient and more easily deployable solutions for detection compared to the state of the art are used by customs and border authorities, in particular avoiding ionizing radiation and minimizing any safety risk to users and operators and ensuring respect of fundamental rights.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- eligible non-EU countries:
- countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- At the date of the publication of the work programme, there are no countries associated to Horizon Europe. Considering the Union’s interest to retain, in principle, relations with the countries associated to Horizon 2020, most third countries associated to Horizon 2020 are expected to be associated to Horizon Europe with an intention to secure uninterrupted continuity between Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. In addition, other third countries can also become associated to Horizon Europe during the programme. For the purposes of the eligibility conditions, applicants established in Horizon 2020 Associated Countries or in other third countries negotiating association to Horizon Europe will be treated as entities established in an Associated Country, if the Horizon Europe association agreement with the third country concerned applies at the time of signature of the grant agreement.
- low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3iAXT5g