Automated border control with a harmonized modular reference system - experiences in the EU research project FastPass

The increasing amount of travelers crossing the EU borders as well as Illegal border crossing with sophisticated spoofing methods forces the authorities to implement new solutions for the control process. In order to achieve higher control rates and to increase security and objectivity in the process, the borders of the EU have been supported by automated border control systems (ABC) during the last years. The FP 7 EU project "FastPass" defines a European reference architecture for ABC systems relating to air, sea and land borders. The main objectives are lower cost, higher security for the border guards and increased acceptance for the travelers, authorities, politicians and the public. The FastPass consortium is a balanced mixture from industry, research and authorities/users of ABC systems with 27 partners from 9 countries (Austria, Germany, Finland, UK etc. like the Austrian AIT (coordinator), the Finish VTT and the German Fraunhofer Society. The main objectives are derived from the following motivating challenges: increased passenger flows, increased spoofing attacks, increased security requirements. They are higher process speeds, anti-spoofing measures, system risk assessment, harmonization, variety in usage, better usability and acceptance.