The final outcome of SHIELD4CROWD will be to identify the critical threat and prepare an environment enabling contributors to undertake a future pre-commercial procurement (PCP). A technology developed through a PCP process will be employed to mitigate the major security-related risk.

To achieve this goal, our project aims to identify pertinent common security needs and challenges in the area of crowd management to enhance safety in public spaces.

Recently, we made significant progress. On February 20, the SHIELD4CROWD consortium, along with the User Observatory Group (UOG) members, participated in an online workshop to refine the previously defined 10 scenarios into 3 use cases. Initially, we examined the scenarios and the end-users’ needs associated with each.

We mapped the requirements related to the five steps of the security process:

• Prevent;
• Detect/Alert;
• Assess/Follow;
• Resolve; and
• Post-investigation.

We evaluated each scenario and its addressed needs, facilitating the initial prioritisation of the scenarios.

Subsequently, we assessed the technologies associated with each use case. This assessment was based on the call for interest results, in which European-based technological providers showcased their solutions (with a Technology Readiness Level TRL between 1-9), detailing the technology’s features, the scenario(s) it addressed, its alignment with countering common security threats, the solution’s TRL, and any technological/legal constraints. Considering the diversity and maturity levels of the technologies responding to the use cases, a second round of prioritisation was conducted.

During our meeting on March 7, the use cases were refined. These final scenarios incorporate aspects of the initial 10 to address a broad spectrum of use cases. They are:

Scenario #1️ Coordinated bomb and CBRN attacks:

• Bomb attack in a transport network;
• Chemical substances dropped by a drone on a crowd.

Scenario #2️ Concert venue chaos: disinformation-induced panic:

• Disinformation on social media;
• Urban riot.

Scenario #3️ Terrorist attack at train station and surrounding area:

• Terrorist attack in a major train station;
• Gunfire and cold weapon.

The scenarios that receive the most votes from the SHIELD4CROWD partners and the UOG members will be further refined to identify a common challenge that addresses the most critical needs.