Dezhou border wall slogan

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 solid wall under construction, the United States is still building a "smart wall" composed of high technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence and advanced sensors, but it seems to be invisible, with low sense of 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, which revealed 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" and using drones for large-scale surveillance are the easiest solutions to think of.

As early as 2006, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began to use Predator B to cruise the US-Mexico border. However, the stand-alone cost of this 4-ton "integrated inspection and strike" drone is as high as 6. 543.8+07 billion dollars, flying for one hour will cost 6. The $543.8+0.2 billion should have been used as a battlefield by missiles, and anti-smuggling is 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 real-time transmission of reconnaissance videos to help patrol personnel lock and track suspicious targets. From June 8, 2065438 to April 9, 2065438, CBP border patrol used small unmanned aerial vehicles to fly 176 hours, and arrested 474 people according to information from the sky.

Recently, CBP announced that it will continue to purchase 65,438+000 small UAV systems, mainly for trial deployment on the southwestern border of the United States.

Artificial intelligence to create a "super brain"

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 Shuler, head of CBP innovation team, said, "I don't think there is any 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 Anduri's products can automatically process the acquired 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 also cooperated with Cogniac, a Silicon Valley startup, to use its AI image processing software for border monitoring. Related experiments have begun and large-scale deployment will be explored.

The new sensor acts as a "keen sentry"

An image is just a signal. CBP also deployed thousands of ground sensors at 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, there are defects in the previous sensors, such as stray animals and falling stones, which can 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.

Tiny glass fibers buried 65,438+0-2 feet underground can screen out pressure waves with specific frequencies, receive weak vibrations and record subtle sounds. 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 purchased 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 famous US Department of Homeland Security (the parent organization of ICE and CBP) issued a report, claiming that "business location data" can be obtained from "third-party data providers" to "find someone appearing in the area between entry ports, and this appearance 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 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 location and other information 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)