Towards user requirements for harmonised automated border control gates

Border control procedures on travellers are increasingly becoming automated in the European Union area. State-of-the-art technology is introduced to passenger clearance processes to facilitate growing international cross-border travel. In addition to passenger comfort, new technological solutions are expected to enhance the security of external borders, as emphasized in the recent 'Smart Borders Package' of the European Commission. Modernised systems, such as Automated Border Control (ABC) systems, offer more efficient tools to the prevention of irregular border crossings and the detection of overstays. However, technological solutions and the corresponding processes have often taken very diverse forms across countries, and the degree of interoperability between current systems has remained low. The present paper presents the current progress of the FP7 integration project FastPass that aims at establishing and demonstrating a harmonised, modular approach for ABC gates.