Open-minded testing in Kivilompolo – Finnish Customs introduces pilot project for automated border crossing
Customs introduces a pilot project in July 2021 for automating the border crossing of goods traffic at the Finnish-Norwegian border. The aim of the pilot project is to try new technical solutions for facilitating safe commercial traffic. The project is estimated to continue until the end of the year, and the purpose is to produce functioning models for future logistics solutions.
The pilot project will be carried out at the Kivilompolo border crossing point. New solutions for the flow of information, identification of transport data and quicker border crossing will be tested, aiming to facilitate the digitalisation of logistics. These will be tested with transports under the transit procedure arriving to Finland from Norway. Intelligent technologies make it possible to transport goods safely and to cross the border efficiently.
”Customs wants to participate in projects that encourage experimenting and that help us make our work more efficient and promote a smooth trade in goods. The aim is that after the pilot project, we will be able to introduce the solution also at other border crossing points, says Juha Heikkilä, Director of Tornio Customs.
Finnish Customs, Norwegian Customs and the providers of the technical solutions Vediafi, Caverion and Marshall AI, are participating in the pilot project in Kivilompolo, among others.
This pilot project by Finnish Customs is part of a larger CaaS (Corridor as a Service) cooperation project optimizing the export procedure for salmon transports from Norway to the Asian market.
If successful, automation will be used more
The pilot project is conducted on a platform created by Vediafi. This platform is used for developing and automating logistics services. At first, the automation solution will involve quicker border crossing, real time follow up of the transport and more effective communication between Customs and the driver.
Customs tries the CaaS platform in order to make the flow of information more efficient in the coming border crossings. The platform is utilised by the ABC (automated border crossing) application (developed by Vediafi and used by the transport company), by the border crossing system (developed for Finnish Customs by MarshallAI) and by MarshallAI’s Machine vision solution. Together, these make it possible to quickly compare information at the border crossing point; information that has been received in advance and that is needed for customs clearance. When the transport has arrived at the border crossing point, the cameras read the information concerning the transport and forward it to a customs officer. If the information is OK, the driver is permitted to continue the journey. If necessary, the system gives the customs officer possibility to ask the driver for more detailed information, or to give instructions to the driver.
The pilot project is estimated to last approximately one year and during this time, Customs will collect information and experience about how well the systems work. If the pilot project is successful, automated border crossing can be developed more extensively at the border crossing points.