Projects

2024 – 2027: FRODDO, Federated cybeR-physical infrastructure for ODD cOntinuity (Grant Agreement 101147819). The operational context is the cornerstone to ensure performance and safety of CCAM. The ODD, by design, defines the operating environment for which a system is designed for. On the other hand, Authorities and Road Operators are responsible for operating the PDI with a variety of vehicles and systems with limited knowledge on the diverse ODD specifications. To answer the question of how safe is a CCAM service, one should not only address the ODD used for shaping the functional boundaries of CCAM (top down), but also the infrastructure, system related, safe and secure communications related and conditions (traffic, weather, hazards) related aspects of the road environment these systems will operate (bottom up). The grande challenge is to design broader ODDs that allow for cooperation with the PDI in a safe system design framework; the industry cannot unilaterally develop and operate sustainable and robust ODDs without the feedback from Authorities and Operators. (VUB website)

2024 – 2027: SAFETRAVELLERS, Secure and Frictionless Identity for EU and Third Country National Citizens (co-financed by the European Commission under Grant Agreement 101121269). Identity theft is rapidly expanding, causing substantial financial loss to millions of people all around the world. This invisible crime is also widespread across EU countries, where a growing number of citizens is targeted by sophisticated fraudulent attacks each year, both offline and online. 56% of Europeans have experienced at least one type of fraud in the last two years. European security officials speak of an “epidemic” created by a spike in demand from asylum-seekers and from terrorists carrying counterfeit documents to enter the EU. Security documents are increasingly being counterfeited or tampered with by criminals to facilitate transnational crime. The continued vulnerability of different types of identity and travel documents makes it extremely difficult to combat this problem. SafeTravellers value proposition aims at a) strengthening the security at the borders, b) improving the productivity of the Border Authorities and LEAs by providing them with the appropriate tools to combat identity fraud at the hardware, identity and travel document, and biometrics level, while c) offering a frictionless border crossing experience for EU/TCN citizens as they will not have to stop at the border checkpoints. SafeTravellers is both proposing a new way of citizen identification based on multiple biometrics instead of the problematic identity document, as well as an enhancement of the current way of identity verification at the borders through a set of tools that will detect attacks at the biometric hardware, identity and travel document fraud and attempts to falsify biometrics. The proposed solution is GDPR compliant and introduces various privacy-preserving mechanisms to safeguard the citizens' rights. Through the distributed European Multi-Biometric Data Space offered by SafeTravellers, each Member State will keep in its jurisdiction the personal data of its country nationals while allowing cross-border identity checks without transferring or revealing any biometric data. (VUB website)

2023 – 2026: RESONANT, multidisciplinary research cooperation on information suppression and diaspoRa communitiES as a target of fOreign iNformation mAnipulation aNd inTerference (co-financed by the European Commission under Grant Agreement (co-financed by the European Commission under Grant Agreement 101132439). Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) including information suppression concern a series of threatening behaviours in the information domain and represents a major challenge, in terms of counteraction and the policy-making in this matter. Numerous FIMI operations carried out by non-EU State and non-State actors, often recorded within and beyond EU borders, aims to domestically threaten fundamental rights and freedoms and could as well produce threatening effects outside of their borders. The RESONANT project aims to create a better picture and understanding of State and non-State actors applying information suppression and to recommend strategies, tools and methodologies to reduce the impact and the vulnerability of the target groups, as the Diaspora Communities. In order to understand which actors outside the EU use in a coordinated manner Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPS) of information suppression, RESONANT proposes to analyse information suppression incidents, thus creating an Evidence Base. Considering both the domestic and cross-border dimensions of information suppression, the project will also examine the mainly adopted TTPs, as well as the available Tools for their Detection and Analysis. For enhancing the knowledge regarding the effects of information suppression, RESONANT proposes an analysis of Behavioural changes in Diaspora Communities as result of information suppression and of the Awareness and Preparation of EU State Authorities in terms of practical legal means, providing selected Case Studies. Furthermore, the project will propose the definition of a Methodological Toolkit and Policy Recommendations, as well as the organisation of Table Top Exercises and Focus Group Policy Discussion, for addressing information suppression and FIMI. RESONANT will realise a Handbook of methodologies and policy recommendations, contributing to communicate and disseminate practical means to counter information suppression and FIMI. (VUB website)

2023 – 2026: VOCORDER, Towards the ultimate breath analysis -based continuous healthcare, (Grant Agreement 101115442). VOCORDER develops innovative components based on disruptive technologies that aims to render breath analysis testing a holistic, highly efficient health monitoring apparatus that can be seamlessly integrated into everyday life. The project capitalizes on recent developments on mid-infrared lasers and moves the technology well beyond the state-of-the-art to demonstrate at TRL5 a highly efficient multiple species (gases) breath analysers that can with a 5 sec use of the device, and the use of artificial intelligence-based signal processing, can conclude on the health status of the individual, just like the fictional Star Trek Tricorder. To record and analyze the maximum amount of information on the individual health status completely unobtrusively, exhaled breath is among the most convenient body fluids as can be obtained at large quantities, practically without any causing discomfort to the user, with strong potentially to seamlessly integrate into everyday life. Exhaled breath contains more than 1’000 substances which can serve as efficient biomarkers, the measurement of concentration of which can provide a clear provision of the health status of the individual while the diagnosis of some diseases or pathological process in human body can be obtained early. For a truly seamlessly integration in a plethora of settings, VOCORDER examines the ways to render the final instrument compact and potentially inexpensive. (VUB website)

2022 – 2025: FERMI, Fake nEws Risk Mitigator, (Grant Agreement 101073980). Online social networks, news media and web platforms are the way contemporary societies operate for communication, information exchange, business, co-creation, learning and knowledge acquisition . However, the veracity of information circulating in the digital world is often in dispute. Indeed, disinformation and fake news (D&FN) increasingly affect and distort public opinion. National governments and supranational institutions recognize the spread of D&FN as a pernicious social problem. Indeed, the diffusion online of D&FN may have severe consequences. First, the spread of D&FN might infuse uncertainty and fear, intensify the crisis situations, weaken the European societies aggravating their divisions. In turn, the increase in divisions and fear leads to episodes of physical violence offline and other hate crimes. As such, D&FN have the power to polarise public debates and put the health, security, and environment of EU citizens at risk. Finally, the use of fake accounts, the involvement of AI-generated fake content and the use of bots that can spread D&FN at scale pose additional problems. FERMI will exploit a holistic and cross-disciplinary methodology towards a framework that will thoroughly analyse D&FN and their sources, in combination with all the socioeconomic factors that may affect both the spreading of such incidents and their effects on multiple dimensions of society. Comprising a set of innovative technological developments, FERMI will facilitate EU Police Authorities to detect and monitor the way that D&FN spread, both in terms of locations and within different segments of the society, and to put in place relevant security countermeasures; it will produce and diffuse tailor-made training material designed for i) European Police Authorities, ii) other professionals and stakeholders, iii) EU citizens for combating the spread and limiting the impact of D&FN and increasing digital trust. (VUB website)

2022 – 2025: EITHOS, European Identity THeft Observatory System, (Grant Agreement 101073928). EITHOS will develop a novel Identity Theft Observatory System, empowering European citizens, Law Enforcements Agencies (LEAs), and policy makers to further contribute to the prevention, detection, and investigation of identity theft related crime. It will provide a common gateway for identity theft information and intelligence in Europe, built on top of a modern technological back end, based on two pillars: (1) Inform & Educate European citizens through the observatory itself and via innovative awareness campaigns regarding the safety of their personal data and identity; (2) Identify & address the challenges that Police Authorities face against identity theft and develop a robust software toolset to support them and enhance their investigations. The proposed system will provide easy access to information and intelligence about previous and current identity theft related trends (such as the methods that fraudsters follow to steal information, personal data protection, or the ways that victims can be supported) through its front end, while offering a cutting-edge AI- based technological toolkit via its back end. Additionally, the project will analyse the societal impact of identity theft, as well as the legal framework under which the utilisation of AI remote technologies and e-evidence exchange can be achieved. Focusing on educating civil society and addressing the obstacles that hinder LEAs to efficiently fight identity theft, EITHOS differentiates from previous projects and other market solutions which often concentrate on digital identity management and secure transactions. (VUB website)

2022 – 2025: AUGMENTED CCAM, Augmenting and Evaluating the Physical and Digital Infrastructure for CCAM deployment, (Grant Agreement 101069717). AUGMENTED CCAM aims to understand, harmonise and evaluate in an augmented manner adapted and novel support solutions of Physical, Digital and Communication (PDI) infrastructure, to advance its readiness for large scale deployment of CCAM solutions for all. The project will elaborate, extend and harmonise PDI classification and support levels mapping co-determined PDI priority requirements and adaptations. Based on this and by deploying an open sharing technology agnostic service operational framework and architecture for PDI enabled CCAM, addressing all CCAM actors via multi-cooperation models, the project will develop 11 PDI support solutions (aiming at TLR 6-7) that will apply and evaluate in different configurations in seven (7) test sites across three (3) European Countries (France, Latvia, Spain), encompassing a vast spectrum of physical (living labs, closed areas, open traffic highway, urban and peri-urban/rural environments) and virtual (DT, AV & driving simulators) test beds. AI and Big Data advanced techniques and crowdsourced HD maps will leverage the whole transport system and its users’ situational awareness, prediction and actuation. The different test activities findings, supported by micro and macroscopic traffic simulations, will allow the assessment of different PDI support on functional safety of the whole transport infrastructure, on traffic safety and efficiency, driving behaviour, environmental footprint, service reliability, trust & security, considering the socioeconomic benefits and costs of all actors, and the issue of roadmap and recommendations, proposing risk-aversion decision making tools and methodologies for policy making and CCAM - ready infrastructure investments. AUGMENTED CCAM, coordinated by FEHRL, consists of a multi-stakeholder Consortium of 26 Partners from 12 European countries and one Associated partner from Switzerland. Roughly 50% of them are firms (30% Industries, 50% of which road operators, and 18,5% of them SMEs). (VUB website)

2021 – 2024: LAW-GAME, A virtual training platform for police officers, (Grant Agreement 101021714). As a training strategy, gamification is being used by companies and institutions to engage users and motivate actions. The EU-funded LAW-GAME project will use gamification technologies to train police officers on procedures in a safe and controlled virtual environment in Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Romania, and Moldova. The project will introduce an attractive method to develop competencies required to perform AI-assisted intelligence analysis and illegal acts prediction. LAW-GAME will conduct forensic examination through a one-player or multi-player cooperative scenario and provide developed AI tools for evidence recognition, crime scene investigation, and car accident analysis. The project will expose the trainees to police interview tactics and train them to recognise and mitigate potential terrorist attacks. (VUB website)

2021 – 2024: Mes-CoBrad, Multidisciplinary Expert System for the Assessment & Management of Complex Brain Disorders (Grant Agreement 965422). The Multidisciplinary Expert System for the Assessment & Management of Complex Brain Disorders (MES-CoBraD) is an interdisciplinary project combining Real-World Data (RWD) from multiple clinical and consumer sources through comprehensive, cost-efficient, and fast protocols towards improving diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic outcomes in people with Complex Brain Disorders (CoBraD), as reflected in Neurocognitive (Dementia), Sleep, and Seizure (Epilepsy) disorders and their interdependence. It brings together internationally recognized experts in medicine, engineering, computer science, social health science, law, and marketing and communication from across Europe, and combines clinical information and scientific research in CoBraD with technical innovation in secure data-sharing platforms, artificial intelligence algorithms, expert systems of precision and personalized care, and advanced data analytics, with a primary focus on improving the quality of life of patients, their caregivers, and the society at large. It leverages RWD from diverse CoBraD populations across cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and health system backgrounds, with special attention on including vulnerable populations and minorities in an equitable manner and engaging key stakeholders to maximize project impact. (VUB website)