The concept of territories and borders is as old as the first human social groups. They exist to mark the lands within which a certain group of people live, work, and coexist, and also serve to protect their collective interests.

Today's borders function under the same principles. They are broadened by border control and security measures implemented by a country or a group of countries. The first is there to regulate the movement of people, goods, and animals across borders. While the latter are employed to prevent illegal travel or trade, immigration, and crime.

Modern times and high travel flows require the implementation of advanced technologies for achieving operational efficiency. Furthermore, technology providers like Vladimir Cizelj, PhD, and Vlatacom Institute create intelligent border control solutions and support countries to attain those goals.

Need for intelligent solutions

Although the world has been severely struck by the global COVID-19 health crisis, it continues to operate with high flows of people and goods. Cross-border travel might be restricted at the moment. Still, we have, for instance, the predictions by the European Commission that the EU in and out border-crossings are expected to reach 887 million by 2025.

To maintain and create an efficient border management system, countries have to utilize new technologies and devices. Moreover, integrating technology and digital systems is a vital step in any border control and security improvement. Together with effective cooperation, they protect national security and combat transnational crime and terrorism.

Vlatacom Institute and Vladimir Cizelj

Vlatacom Institute distinguishes itself as a border control solutions manufacturer and system integrator. Founded by Vladimir Cizelj, PhD, in 1997, it has come a long way to becoming a recognized security partner of governments across Europe, Africa, Latin, America, and Asia.

Besides becoming the first private R&D ICT institute in Serbia in 2015, Vlatacom has become a world-renowned technology provider. With an array of national and international awards, Vlatacom and Vladimir Cizelj, PhD, continue to prove their business excellence. For these reasons and more, governments partner up with the Institute and implement their border surveillance and monitoring technology.

With their dedication to innovation, teams of experts led by Vladimir Cizelj develop cutting edge devices and systems. These solutions for border security and control, biometrics, ICT security, and critical assets safeguard are engineered to support and optimize these processes.

An important element of their progress has been the continuous investment in education and people. Today, the Vlatacom team comprises 150 highly educated employees and also offers post-graduate students to conduct research in technologies and related technical sciences there.

Sensor systems, biometrics, and document readers

Some of the Vlatacom solutions that support border control include document readers, biometric data verification systems, and complex sensor systems.

Vlatacom Document Reader Handheld (vDR-H2) and Stationary Document Reader (vDR2-C-OEM) are travel and ID document verification devices. As their name suggests, the vDR-H2 can be used by the border and/or customs officers to check the identity of document holders. The vDR2-C-OEM is typically installed in border control checkpoints and used for validation of IDs, passports, visas, or driver licenses.

A more and more frequent site at airports, for example, is the self-service kiosks. Vlatacom Verification Kiosk (vKIOSK-V) is a solution that allows the verification of a document holder. It captures the facial and fingerprint images and compares them to the ones stored or printed on the travel document.

For frontier surveillance, Vlatacom has designed electro-optical systems of advanced sensors called the vMSIS3. They integrate imaging sensors and detect objects in the medium to long-range, recognize, and identify them. The systems are accessed and controlled remotely from a command center and include features from image enhancement and motion detection algorithms to eye-safe laser rangefinders.

To sum up

Despite the travel limitations imposed by the pandemic, the flow of people and goods is high. Moreover, it is expected to rise even more in the following years. Effective border control is a target governments have to meet and it requires the utilization of the latest security technologies. The role of partners from the security industry such as Vlatacom and Vladimir Cizelj is essential for establishing intelligent border control. Their innovative solutions are designed to help security agencies protect the national and international borders and citizens against crime. Through their joint efforts, borders can evolve into even more efficient security points.