On the outskirts of Vienna, staff at the Austrian Institute of Technology are working on a project that could radically change border security within the European Union. 

Developed by researchers at the institute, it is known as Foldout. Using ground and air sensors and drones, this new technology aims to detect migrants and human traffickers through forests, fields and other environments, in daylight and in darkness. It then alerts border patrol guards to their movements, via an integrated computer system.

Foldout is being tested in a two-year pilot scheme at a simulated border in Bulgaria, with future launches planned in Greece, Finland and French Guiana in South America. Costing $9 million, it is entirely funded by the European Union, which backs hundreds of similar projects. 

The global border security system market is expected to reach a value of about $53 billion by 2022. In its 2014-2020 budget, the EU earmarked $14.2 billion for border security, but the body has almost tripled the sum to $38 billion for the upcoming 2021-2027 period. This huge injection of cash, made in the wake of Europe’s migrant crisis of 2015, has allowed a number of small, profit driven companies to access public money from the EU and individual states, in order to develop their products.