Cbp immigration software

Predator B UAV for border surveillance. Source: Network (occupy.com)

Which wall is the most controversial in the world today? Undoubtedly, that is the "border wall" supported by the current US President Trump. For it, the two parties in the United States even argued that the government had stopped.

In fact, in addition to this impregnable wall under construction, the United States is still building a "smart wall" composed of high and new technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence and advanced sensors, but it seems invisible, with low existence, low cost and less controversy. But for maintaining border security, invisible walls may be more effective than tangible walls.

A few days ago, the famous American science and technology media "Recode" wrote an article revealing several mysterious devices in the border smart wall.

Drones create "eye of the sky"

The border is long, the road is rugged, the cost of manpower patrol is high, and there are many loopholes. "Standing high and looking far", using drones for large-scale monitoring is the easiest solution to think of.

As early as 2006, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) began to cruise the US-Mexico border with Predator B. However, the single unit cost of this 4-ton "integrated inspection and warfare" drone is as high as 6.5438+0.7 million US dollars, and it will cost 6.5438+0.2 million US dollars to fly for one hour. Missiles should have been hung as a battlefield, and anti-smuggling and anti-smuggling are a bit overqualified.

In recent years, CBP began to explore the use of small drones instead of Predator B as the "eye of the sky". Unlike Predator B, which can patrol in a wide range, these small planes are mainly used for fixed-point reconnaissance in specific areas and transmit reconnaissance videos in real time to help patrol personnel lock and track suspicious targets. From June, 20 18 to April, 20 19, CBP border patrol flew 176 hours with small unmanned aerial vehicles, and arrested 474 people according to the information from the sky.

Recently, CBP announced that it will continue to purchase 100 sets of small UAV systems, which are mainly used for trial deployment on the southwestern border of the United States.

Building a "Super Brain" with Artificial Intelligence

Although drones can save patrol manpower, they need staff to stare at the screen to interpret the video. As we all know, artificial intelligence technology can quickly process signals and images, and find abnormal situations more accurately and effectively than humans.

In fact, CBP has begun to use intelligent drones and monitoring tower, in which artificial intelligence software can process information from radar and cameras more quickly. As Schuler, head of CBP innovation team, said, "I don't think there is an organization on this planet that doesn't want to use artificial intelligence to do more efficient things."

Monitoring tower of American company Anduril has conducted tests on the Texas border, helping CBP to capture 55 people crossing the border and seize 982 pounds of marijuana within 10 week. It is reported that Anduriel's products can automatically process the obtained images without any manual input, and the intervention of intelligent algorithms enables it to achieve more accurate recognition with a lower-priced camera.

In addition, CBP is cooperating with Cogniac, a startup company in Silicon Valley, to use its artificial intelligence image processing software for border monitoring. Related experiments have begun and large-scale deployment will be explored.

This new sensor is like a "keen sentry"

Image is just a signal. CBP also deployed thousands of ground sensors on the border to collect information such as sound, magnetic field and ground vibration in relevant areas. Once abnormal activities in an area are detected, such as a group of people crossing the border, CBP will send agents or drones to the area for further verification.

However, the previous sensors have defects, such as stray animals and falling rocks, which will also trigger alarms, so it is an inevitable trend to replace new sensors.

It is reported that Quanergy, headquartered in California, has entered the sight of CBP, and its lidar can measure and model the target in 3D. At the same time, CBP began to test optical fiber sensing technology. Its working principle is to measure the backscattering of light when it encounters vibration, strain or temperature change in optical fiber, which can be used to detect human activities in border areas.

The tiny glass fiber buried in the ground 1-2 feet can shield the pressure wave at a specific frequency, receive the weak vibration and record the subtle sound. More attractive, this technology can detect underground vibration and be used to find and crack down on illegal smuggling tunnels.

US Congressman Hurd believes that optical fiber sensors should be installed on the entire US-Mexico border and combined with optical fiber communication technology to provide high-speed Internet access in border areas.

Mobile data monitoring opens the "monitoring skylight"

According to The Wall Street Journal reported in February, 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP bought a commercial database to track millions of American mobile phones, and these institutions are using it to identify and arrest illegal immigrants on the US-Mexico border.

In 20 19, the well-known American Department of Homeland Security, the parent organization of ICE and CBP, issued a report, claiming that it is possible to obtain "business location data" from "third-party data providers" in order to "discover the existence of a person in the area between entry ports, and this existence indicates that there may be improper or illegal activities". Location data purchased by CBP includes anonymous ID, location, time and how many other signals are nearby. CBP says it doesn't collect personally identifiable information, but only needs to find someone's presence at the border.

However, CBP is also equipped with a cellular base station simulator called stingray, but it is not clear whether it is used in border areas. "Stingray" imitates ordinary mobile phone base stations, and extracts information such as location from devices such as mobile phones connected to it. It can not only detect the existence of mobile devices, but also intercept text and voice, and even send information in some cases. From 20 10 to 20 14, CBP spent as much as $2.5 million on this technology. (Hu Dingkun)