M3 Systems Belgium is a member of the PASSport European Project consortium which aims to engineer and qualify a solution extending situational awareness based on aerial fixed/ rotary wing and underwater drones to improve safety and security in port areas.
The need stems from the directive 2005/65/EC asking to complement surveillance systems for the whole port area, in order to significantly improve security and safety for daily operations implanted in port area. This result also in saving citizen lives ensuring a high and equal level of safety and security for European ports (around one thousand European ports fall within the scope of the directive).
The proposed solution is intended to complement already operational platforms by extending the surveillance perimeter using a fleet of drones to provide innovation and operational support to the recognition, management and analysis of safety and security aspects of daily operations with particular attention to:
- Pollution monitoring (safety)
- Support for e-navigation (safety)
- Critical buildings/ Infrastructure protection (security)
- Protection against non-cooperative small craft approaching the port areas (security)
- Underwater threats monitoring (security)
The project is expected to activate commercialization channels based on the novelty represented by the usage of a fleet of semi-automated drones integrating Galileo services (and other sensors) for a safe and efficient guidance, navigation and control (GNC) even in a challenging environment in the presence of obstacles – including buildings and other ground assets – and potentially unfavorable weather conditions.
M3 Systems Belgium will be in charge of the integration of a BOREAL ISR UAV for the required demonstration in a French harbor. In addition to ISR payload, it is also planned to perform GNSS IQ collection for the evaluation of GNSS signals quality for harbor dedicated applications.
Consortium members:
SISTEMATICA SPA; UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE; DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT – UND RAUMFAHRT EV; GMV AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE SA; FUNDACIO EURECAT; DIGI ONE srl; G7 INTERNATIONAL SRL; AKADEMIA MORSKA W SZCZECINIE AM; BM BERGMANN-MARINE; AUTORITA’ PORTUALE DEL PORTO DI GIOIA TAURO; FUNDACION DE LA COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA PARA LA INVESTIGACION, PROMOCION Y ESTUDIOS COMERCIALES DE VALENCIAPORT; DEEP BLUE SRL; CENTER FOR STUDIES AND EXPERTISE ON RISKS ENVIRONMENT MOBILITY AND DEVELOPMENT; ALCINA; M3 SYSTEMS BELGIUM
