New Project: enhancing EU Security and maritime monitoring with AI/ML

Today and yesterday, Simula Research Laboratory kicked-off the project AI4COPSEC (Security enhancement through heterogeneous data fusion and improved AI/ML-powered Copernicus maritime and border surveillance services). This is a new Horizon Europe project designed to bolster the Copernicus Security Service (CSS) by integrating advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies.

The Copernicus Security Service is vital for the European Union’s border control, maritime surveillance, and international security operations. While CSS effectively leverages Earth Observation (EO) data, it faces challenges such as data gaps, weather interference, and satellite limitations. AI4COPSEC aims to address these gaps by using cutting-edge AI/ML techniques to process and fuse diverse data sources, transforming how security-related information is gathered and utilized.

The 36-month project is coordinated by Simula Research Laboratory and supported by an interdisciplinary consortium of ten partners from seven European countries, including eOdyn, the project’s technical coordinator. eOdyn brings expertise in ocean monitoring and AI-driven operational data systems. Other partners include Hozint - Horizon Intelligence, ITML, IMT Atlantique, Aistech Space, SatCen, Magellan Circle, Università Politecnica delle Marche, and Guardia Civil.

Innovative AI/ML Solutions for Maritime and Border Surveillance
AI4COPSEC will enhance CSS capabilities by employing self-supervised machine learning models, GeoAI, and advanced algorithms to analyze large, heterogeneous datasets. Key focus areas include:

• Advance AI/ML-based methods and tools for enhancing Copernicus Security Services
• Showcase these advances in four use cases, including for oil spill response, illegal fishing alerts, and sSearch-and-rRescue activities and migrants-ship early detection;.
• Integration of satellite and costal AIS data streams, earth-observation imagery together, environmental data  withthermal, and OSINT data for actionable intelligence in maritime and border surveillance.

AI4COPSEC combines satellite data, thermal imagery, and OSINT with self-supervised AI models to deliver timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence. Watch for project updates as we strengthen the EU’s COPERNICUS Security Services, aligning with the EU Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS), and enhancing safety for Europe’s borders and waterways.

Project Coordinator Arnaud Gotlieb, Chief Research Scientist at Simula Research Laboratory, expressed enthusiasm for the project, "Gathering the ten partners of AI4COPSEC in our premisses in Oslo to successfully kick off the project was an intense pleasure and a unique occasion to discover what makes this project so unique. We have confronted and aligned our vision and ambition for the project altogether and listed its scientific and technological challenges. Together with my colleagues from all over over Europe, we are very excited to kick start the project's scientific and technic activities."

By integrating AI-driven solutions, AI4COPSEC will align with the EU Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS), enhancing the EU's ability to monitor and address maritime risks, strengthen border security, and ensure safer waterways.

More information

• Follow the project page: AI4COPSEC project page

Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the Granting authority can be held responsible for them.