The Impact of Autonomy at the Border
Connected and automated vehicles are already crossing the international border between the United States and Canada, at least in virtual reality thanks to a digital twin of the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. This digital twin is helping to prepare the automotive industry for the additional complications of making a border crossing with autonomous vehicles. Canadian and American border agencies are beginning to take note. Forward thinking at the border is not limited to North America. In Europe, the 5G-ROUTES project will be testing Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) across a corridor spanning Estonia, Latvia and Finland. This project will help to ensure continuous 5G connectivity of vehicle as they cross borders.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming transportation and enabling autonomy for all types of vehicles. We can categorize autonomous vehicles into self-driving and driverless. A self-driving vehicle will have an automated and a manual mode, requiring a person in the driver’s seat. A driverless vehicle does not require a person in the driver seat and may not have a driver’s seat at all. In the transportation industry the driver is often the most expensive part of the business, which presents an opportunity for cost savings. While in the business of borders, the driver is a key player for border agencies in communication, assessing risk, and sharing information.
Are border agencies ready for autonomous vehicles? ?
In this series of blog posts my colleagues Eric Huggard and Graeme Gaetz and I will explore the readiness of border agencies for autonomous vehicles as they cross international borders and associated impact of autonomy on borders and border operations.
We will explore the legal, policy, economic, infrastructure, data and technology impacts of border autonomy through a series of different use cases.
This first blog post will introduce the use cases and the subsequent blog posts, which will be posted monthly. Each of the following posts will explore these use cases in more detail. We welcome any thoughts you may have on the use cases, border crossing or autonomy.
Use case #1 – Personal autonomous cars ?
For this first use case we will explore two different scenarios involving autonomous personal cars crossing an international border.
The first use case is a family of four crossing the border in their car overnight. Each family member has already submitted their passport information and confirmed their biometrics through a mobile application. When their vehicle makes it to the border the whole family is asleep. We will explore these questions further in the blog post:
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The second use case is a personal autonomous car without a human inside is caught transporting a gun across a border illegally. The owner of the car sent their car without passengers or cargo to Country A to pick up a personal package. When the vehicle returned to country B it was flagged for inspection and an illegal gun was found hidden in the package. We will explore these questions further in the blog post:
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Use case #2 – Large autonomous commercial trucks
For this use case we will explore the impact of large autonomous commercial vehicles, such as trucks (e.g. a semi-truck or a lorry), as they cross international borders.
In this use case an autonomous transport truck is carrying a load of merchandise for multiple retail stores is 1km from the land border crossing and has already provided an electronic manifest of the goods in advance. The vehicle is randomly selected for an inspection, which can be completed via autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also known as a drone. We will explore these questions further in the blog post:
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Use case #3 – Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
For this use case we will explore the impact of UAVs delivering goods directly to consumers across international borders in a direct point to point flight pattern.
In this use case a UAV is delivering a single package from a retailer’s warehouse in Country A directly to an individual consumer’s house in Country B. The value and classification of the goods require that duties and tax be collected. We will explore these questions further in the blog post:
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Use case #4 – An autonomously operated marine port
For this use case we will explore the potential impact of an autonomously operated international marine port on the border agency where the port resides.
In this use case there is an autonomously operated marine port, which has no humans within the physical confines of the port. The loading and unloading of containers, as well as the x-ray inspection and analysis is fully automated. The port also allows for pre-arrival and pre-berth inspection to occur via UAV. The border agency where the port operates demands to seize a container suspected of carrying illegal drugs. We will explore these questions further in the blog post:
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What do border agencies need to do to prepare for autonomous vehicles?
Finally, how will border service organizations need to adapt to be ready for autonomous vehicles? ?We look to dig further into what border agencies need to do to prepare for the various types of autonomous vehicles that may interact with border agencies at Port of Entries or other border crossing checkpoints in land, air, and sea.
Introducing autonomous vehicles creates many new challenges and questions to be addressed by border service organizations. This may include making changes to requirements on passengers for self-driving technology, determining how data needs to be transferred and protected as borders are being crossed, or what technology needs to be in place to allow for a more seamless integration. There are only a few areas that border service organizations will need to re-imagine their business.
To prepare for this transition, border service organizations need to start determining where they need to adjust processes, what legal requirements - that need to be fulfilled at the border today - may not apply in the future, and what types of technology/integrations need to be in place to support connected to vehicles
The time to plan for change is now.