Phase 2 Prototype Development for Unattended Items Detection Successfully Completed

Ahead of our project, there are the last few months of work on developing solutions for unattended item detection under a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process. What has been accomplished, and what is still planned? This article will provide many insightful details and answers to these questions.

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PCP as a Tool to Respond to the Security Challenge in Public Transport

PREVENT PCP began in September 2021 and was designed to procure technologies that will enhance security in both public transportation and public areas. To achieve the expected results, we rely on a Pre-Commercial Procurement approach. It is an efficient and dependable method for contracting authorities to challenge market innovators through an open, transparent, and competitive process.

We successfully implemented Phase 0 “Preparatory Stage,” which consisted of pre-tendering and tendering parts of planned actions. The next step was Phase 1 “Solution Design,” focused mainly on the technical aspects of proposed technologies. Recently, the project team concluded Phase 2 “Prototype Development”. Let us explore further the activities undertaken and the practical aspects of the work.

Phase 2: Testing, Installation, Calibration, and Evaluation

As previously informed, 4 of the 6 tenderers, which participated in the first part of the PCP process, were awarded a Phase 2 contract:

The second stage of the work  was very intense for the project partners, public buyers, and contractors participating in the PCP process. Overall, the activities included testing the algorithms at the contractors’ premises, installing and calibrating the solutions in SNCF (one of the PREVENT PCP Public Buyers) premises, and then evaluating them connected to 50 cameras in Paris Gare du Nord station. The main highlights from this are:

In such initiatives, effective cooperation and sufficient communication between the project representatives and external entities are crucial. Without them in place, the expected results might not meet the needs. With that in mind, there were numerous oral consultations, also during tests in SNCF premises. Moreover, the members of the Technical Management and Procurement Evaluation Committees, as well as technical advisors, had 8 dedicated meetings with each contractor in order to build the solutions together and optimise performance through the sharing of feedback.

PREVENT PCP Has Entered Its Final Phase

PREVENT PCP achieved the next milestone on February 12, this year, with Phase 3 “Operational Validation” kick-off meeting. The key information regarding this event was which consortia were qualified for the last stage of the PCP. Led by KEMEA, as the main procurer, and based on the public buyers’ evaluation that considered both technical and financial aspects of developed solutions, BULL SAS and PREVAIL teams were awarded a Phase 3 contract and were invited to participate in further works. What will the planned activities include?

The 2 contractors will optimise their solutions in SNCF premises on the 50 cameras from Phase 2 before deploying their solutions in the 7 pilot sites. The tests will be organised using the infrastructure of the PREVENT PCP partners, which are at the same time public transport operators. Thus, developed technologies will be evaluated by SNCF in Paris and Marseille, RATP in Paris, TMB in Barcelona, FGC in Barcelona, AMT in Genova, and Metropolitano de Lisboa, the operator of the Lisbon Metro.

The planned activities include delivering the hardware, such as servers and workstations, the installation at each pilot site, the camera calibration, and the tests to fine-tune the solution for each pilot site. 10 progress meetings are also planned with each contractor and the PREVENT PCP consortium to follow up on their progress and share feedback.

The other main activity for Phase 3 is the validation of societal acceptance through the launch of a societal survey in the 4 pilot countries. By means of an online large-scale population survey in the 4 pilot countries, a representative sample of 1000 people per country will be questioned on several issues: the general acceptance of the developed technology, perception of advantages and disadvantages of the technologies, knowledge of the technologies, obstacles, data access and usage, ethical or privacy issues.

Will the PCP Competition End with one Winner?

Phase 3 of the Pre-Commercial Procurement is at the same time the last stage of the process. There are 2 contractors on stage which will be developing their solutions. The goal is to bring them to a high technology readiness level (TRL 8-9) to have a product that could be used by the end-users and sold to potential customers. It means there will be multiple winners.

Public transport operators and public buyers will have on the horizon the solutions that respond to their security-related challenges. Awarded companies have already developed their technologies and know-how, and will also be able to commercialise the solutions. Finally, assuming a successful implementation of tools to detect unattended items in public transport facilities. It can result in enhanced security of citizens and fewer crisis situations in which security forces are involved.

The successful completion of the work achieved during Phase 3 will be assessed by the Technical Management and Procurement Evaluation Committees at the end of the PREVENT PCP.

Then, the PREVENT PCP Public Buyers will consider a follow-up PPI (Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions) to award a limited set of prototypes and/or test products developed during this PCP procurement (“limited follow-up PPIs”). A follow-up PPI for a commercial volume of the innovative solutions developed in this PCP procurement will be subject to a new Call for Tenders.

PREVENT PCP awarded at Trophées Sécurité 2023!

We are proud to announce that PREVENT PCP received the sliver prize at Trophées Sécurité 2023 – the leading event for safety managers in France.

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The 17th edition of the conference gathered over 800 security-related specialists from SMEs, public entities and multinational companies at the Théâtre de la Madeleine in Paris. PREVENT PCP was presented by Région SUD, a partner of the consortium, which introduced the audience with the main objectives, scope and ideas behind the PCP initiative. 

The project was assessed by a jury composed of 18 head of security of major companies, such as Air France, Carrefour, Sanofi and Sodexo. The stakes of the competition were high – victory in the category: Large-scale projects. PREVENT PCP was praised for its ambition and the seriousness of its execution. Finally, this was enough to receive the silver prize! We are very proud, considering that our rivals were e.g. AIRBUS, Naval Group and other well-known brands.

In total, 80 companies participated in Trophées Sécurité 2023. The remaining competition categories included human protection, infrastructure solutions, decision-support systems for safety and co-construction. Special awards were also given.

Trophées Sécurité 2023
Trophées Sécurité 2023
Trophées Sécurité 2023

(Photos: Manuel Abella for Républik Sécu)

Valuable insights during the PREVENT PCP Info Day

On September 13, the PREVENT PCP Info Day took place, which was organised as a part of the 3-day UITP Security Days. Looking back, we present a short summary of the different insights that were shared regarding several aspects of the PREVENT PCP innovation procurement project.

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After a general overview of the PREVENT PCP project provided by Carmela Canonico from UITP, the participants were familiarised with innovation procurement methodologies, benefits and best practices. This part was led by Dr. Beatriz Gómez Fariñas, representing CORVERS.

In the following session Lessons learned, tips & takeaways on innovation procurement were presented by Matty van Sloten from CORVERS. An expert from the same institution, Egli Rrokaj, explained details regarding the involvement of venture capital in a procurement process. The event was concluded with a session on GDPR & video surveillance. Details on this subject were shared by Francesco Capparelli, the Italian Institute for Privacy.

We encourage you to deepen your knowledge about a PCP. That’s why we made all the presentations and videos publicly available. The materials can be found below.  

Demonstration of the prototypes developed within the PCP and the project meeting in Paris

The next PREVENT PCP meeting will be held from 19 to 20 October in Paris. The event will be split into two parts.

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The first one will be dedicated to the demonstration of solutions developed by the Contractors as a part of the pre-commercial procurement (PCP) process. The 4 Contractors will present their prototypes designed to detect unattended items in the public transport environment (train, metro, bus stations). All the solutions are currently installed and tested in Paris Gare du Nord station within SNCF premises with the goal to evaluate the performance and quality of the unattended items detections, directly connected to 50 cameras.

The project is progressing very quickly. Less than a year remains to complete its implementation. Therefore, the team must organise the General Assembly meeting. The goal is to summarize the completed tasks, discuss ongoing activities, and plan the next steps. Such face-to-face events strengthen cooperation and ensure the high quality of the results.

Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!

Summer is usually a quiet time of the year, but not for the PREVENT PCP team. Our representatives visited 4 premises of Contractors, which are competing in a PCP process. We are satisfied with overall progress, but those meetings were crucial from the project’s perspective.

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The main focus of PREVENT PCP is the procurement of technologies that will improve security in both public transportation and public areas. To achieve expected results, we rely on a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) approach. It is an efficient and dependable method for contracting authorities to challenge market innovators through an open, transparent, and competitive process.

At the end of 2022, the project team selected 6 Contractors composed by tech companies which entered the Solution Design Phase. They had to prepare plans covering multiple aspects related to technical issues, commercialisation, innovation and data management, ethics, risk management, GDPR and IPRs management plan. After the mentioned stage, the Call off for Prototype Development Phase was launched. After a thorough evaluation process, 4 tenderers were awarded with a contract:

One of the next steps were above-mentioned visits, which were organised in July at the Contractors premises. The main reason was to test algorithms that are developed under the PCP process. They should be capable to respond to the main challenges identified by PREVENT PCP: unattended items identification and tracking of its owners.

These tests helped assess the progress of the current phase. We evaluated how the Contractors implemented multiple features, such as classification, association, re-identification, unattended item alerts and tracking of the owners. The project team provided feedback that will be considered before the installation of the solutions in SNCF premises in August. The practical evaluation of the prototypes, installed and connected to a limited number of SNCF cameras in Paris Nord station is planned for September and October 2023.

During the visits, the PREVENT PCP Consortium used datasets recorded with volunteers to test the algorithms. The results are very interesting and complement comments provided to the Contractors during the last Progress Meetings.

Check out our website and social media channels for updates. Soon we will publish news about both the practical tests of the technology prototypes and other activities currently undertaken by the PREVENT PCP team.

Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!
Unattended Items Detection Algorithms are Ready for Testing!

The 3rd PREVENT PCP Newsletter

We are delighted to announce the release of the third PREVENT PCP newsletter. In this issue, we focus on both past and future steps of the project and the latest event in Barcelona.

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We summarised the PREVENT PCP plenary meeting. It was an opportunity to discuss the main achievements, current state of the art, and challenges of the project. In this edition of the newsletter, you will also have a chance to find out more about the results of Phase 1. Additionally, the next stages of the work have been described. We presented an upcoming event that will help in finding out how we can improve the safety of Europe through pre-commercial procurement (PCP).

We encourage you to stay updated on our activities and growth by subscribing to our newsletter and visiting the link below for the latest issue.

PREVENT PCP Info Day [SAVE THE DATE]

We are happy to invite you to the PREVENT PCP Info Day which will be held on September 13 in Brussels. The event will provide an excellent opportunity for all interested in the security of public transport to find out how to improve safety through pre-commercial procurement.

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The meeting will be a part of the 3-day UITP Security Days, which will be attended by the stakeholders specialised in public transportation. The event will be dedicated to the European SAFE-BUS project too. This initiative brings together public transport and security services. Representatives of these groups will be in Brussels to participate in the final event of the project.

The PREVENT PCP Info Day will provide a general overview of the past, current and planned actions. The participants will be familiarised with the rules of setting up a successful pre-commercial procurement (PCP). Additionally, there will be a presentation dedicated to venture capital organisations and their role in supporting the PCP solutions. The event will be concluded with the working table session on the GDPR-related aspects in the context of public transport security.

A draft version of the agenda is available under this link. Save the date and join us in September!

Towards a Safe and Secure Public Transport and Spaces

The PREVENT PCP plenary meeting in Barcelona was held on June 8 and 9, 2023 at the Provença Station in Barcelona. The key information is the Consortium officially announced to the successful Contractors the start of Phase 2 of the pre-commercial procurement of technology solutions.

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They will allow timely automatic detection of potentially dangerous unattended items, identification and tracking of perpetrators, and will include an advanced crisis management system. The start of Phase 2 wasn’t the only objective of the event. Additionally, during the plenary meeting we summarised the current progress of specific Work Packages and provided the members of the User Observatory Group with an update on the PCP process.

The Call off for Phase 2 was launched on April 19, 2023. The deadline for submitting offers was May 8. All five successful Contractors of the Phase 1 submitted their offers. They were evaluated by the KEMEA Procurement Board, Technical Management Committee and Procurement Evaluation Committee. Finally, four tenderers were awarded a Phase 2 contract:

The Prototype Development Phase (Phase 2) will last 7 months. The Phase 2 Contractors will install their Prototypes in the SNCF controlled lab environment, directly connected to 50 cameras from the real CCTV system of Paris Nord Station. The goal is to measure and verify the technical performance of each solution in real conditions (Factory Acceptance Test), and their readiness for a pre-operational deployment.

During Phase 2, the Public Buyers will request from the contractors a series of deliverables in order to evaluate their progress based on a predefined set of criteria. On completion of Phase 2, the R&D providers will each deliver the End of Phase 2 deliverables requested by the Consortium, describing the performed activities and the obtained results of Phase 2, the IPR, ethics and security handling and an updated business/commercialisation plan.

If it sounds interesting to you, follow the PREVENT PCP online channels on LinkedIn & Twitter to stay updated!

We Are Entering the Prototype Development Stage

Another milestone ahead of PREVENT PCP. The project team will meet on June 8-9, 2023 in Barcelona to summarise the work done and plan the next actions.

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During the first day, the progresses of Work Packages will be presented at the General Assembly Meeting. The discussion on the main achievements, current state of the art and challenges aims to help us to confirm that PREVENT PCP is on track. The goal is to provide technologies augmenting the security in public transport and public areas.

Then, the members of the User Observatory Group (UOG) will be welcomed. The practitioners behind the Consortium will be updated with the project’s outcomes, future events and issues related to venture capital. Selected Contractors that entered the next phase of the project will be presented too.

The second day of the meeting in Barcelona is dedicated to the Kick-off Phase 2. The partners of the Consortium, UOG members and Contractors will be familiarised with the details regarding this part of the works. During the upcoming stage, the qualified Contractors will develop a first prototype based on the design documents delivered in the previous phase and test their solutions in lab conditions. It means the selected technology providers are about to start the practical works. We look forward to seeing the results of their effort!

Here and Now We Improve the Safety of Public Transport and Spaces

PREVENT PCP is about to enter Phase 2 of the project. But for now, let’s find out what are the results of the first Phase. We had a chance to speak with Armand Raudin – the Chairman of the Technical Management Committee (TMC)* in PREVENT PCP project.

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1. What is the current status of the PCP process undertaken by PREVENT PCP?

We have selected six Contractors and over eighteen proposals to enter Phase 1 (Solution Design) after the launch of the tender last year. During this phase, we have organized bi-weekly meetings with Contractors.

During those sessions, specialists worked on the detailed requirements and the building of the solutions that could meet PREVENT PCP challenges, such as detection features, tracking of the owner features, and crisis management, as well as technical, hardware, and security features. Those meetings helped the PREVENT PCP consortium and the Contractors to design the future solution. To conclude Phase 1, Contractors submitted their “End of Phase 1” reports, which were assessed by the TMC members.

2. Which aspects were taken into account when evaluating applications?

The TMC has evaluated multiple aspects:

3. Which Consortia were qualified for the next stage of work?

The assessment of Phase 1 had two goals. The first one was to evaluate the progress of the Contractors’ work in Phase 1 (satisfactory work). The second objective was to define if the contractors had successfully completed Phase 1, and are eligible for Phase 2 tender.

After the TMC evaluation and PEC approbation, out of six contractors, five were selected to be eligible for the Phase 2 tender. Those were the DAIMON Consortium, Protecting Railway Transportation via Artificial Intelligence Consortium, BULL SAS Atos, PANOPTES Consortium, and AI-Transportation Consortium.

4. What was the main challenge faced by the project team until now?

The PREVENT PCP project gathers 22 partners, including 11 Public Buyers. As a part of Phase 3, the pilots will take place in four countries with six Public Transport Operators (PTO) and seven pilot sites.

Thus, one of the main challenges was to define the common needs and requirements for the future solution, as well as the functional and technical needs, hardware and cybersecurity requirements, and specificities of the environment of the 6 PTOs involved in the pilots. This challenge impacted the Contractors as well. They had to adapt their solutions, hardware, and implementation plans to the number of cameras, image quality, and the technical environment of each PTO. The involvement of four different countries also led to a legal framework analysis per country, to define what is authorized by the national laws.

5. The PCP works are still ongoing. However, did the project team draw any conclusions regarding the usefulness of the PCP process in the context of public buyers’ needs?

The 3-year PREVENT PCP project is halfway through, and we have some intermediate conclusions regarding the PCP process. Phase 1 dedicated to Solution Design, helped in understanding the solutions by facing the requirements of the projects to the Contractors’ solutions and proposals.

The discussions with the Contractors allowed the Public Buyers to have a first view of several possible solutions with mock-ups, and to be convinced (or not) about their capabilities to develop the solution in the following phases. Hence, the first PCP phase was interesting for Public Buyers to concretely confront their needs for the R&D capabilities on the market. So, even at this early stage of the project, the benefits of the PCP process for Public Buyers are important.

6. What are the next steps?

Five Contractors have submitted their offer for the Call-off for Phase 2, and by the end of May, TMC members will evaluate their technical offers. Selected Contractors will enter Phase 2 dedicated to the prototype development, installation of the solutions in SNCF premises, and prototype evaluation. This phase is a challenge for the PREVENT PCP consortium and the Contractors, who will develop their solutions based on the design confirmed in Phase 1. The prototypes will be installed and connected to real cameras of Paris Nord station (SNCF) and provide the first view of the successful implementation of the solutions during two months of technical tests. In 2024, as a part of Phase 3 of the PCP, the best prototypes will be operationally tested in four countries: France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Armand Raudin - SNCF
Armand Raudin is the Head of the Video & Innovation Program in the SNCF Security Directorate. Within PREVENT PCP project, he plays the role of the Chairman of the Technical Management Committee. Over the last few years, he conducted experiments on video analytics. He went through many use cases that led him to better understand the technologies and the maturity of the market.

* TMC gathers 11 representatives of PREVENT PCP Public Buyers. Its role is to assist the Procurement Evaluation Committee (PEC) activities for all the technical aspects of the project. The TMC reviews the documentation submitted by the contractors within all PCP phases, verifies the compliance of the products with the technical requirements, expresses comments and, taking into account the remarks of the industry and finally proposes to the PEC the acceptance or the rejection of the deliverables submitted by the contractors. The TMC Chairman consolidates the partners opinions and ratings, and lead the technical discussions with TMC members.