EAB Research Projects Conference (EAB-RPC) 2017

The 4^th edition of the EAB Research Projects Conference will take place on the 18^th and 19^th of September 2017, at the premises of Fraunhofer IGD in Darmstadt, Germany. The conference is organized by the European Association for Biometrics (EAB) in cooperation with the Joint Research Center (DG-JRC) of the European Commission, through its Cyber and Digital Citizens' security Unit. The EAB-RPC 2017 will be co-located with the EAB Research Award and the IEEE BIOSIG Conference, later that same week.

The conference is currently the largest event on research funded by the European Union in the area of Biometrics and Identity Management. Over the previous three successful editions, EAB-RPC has become itself as the main forum in Europe where attendees can simultaneously: promote research carried out in biometrics, forge new links and networks, and identify the appropriate partners for possible future project applications. Last year's edition welcomed over 100 participants from academia, industry and public institutions.

This year's edition will include the participation of numerous EU-funded research projects, such as: ARIES, iBorderCtrl, PYCSEL, AMBER, LIGHT^est, ABC4EU, HECTOS, BODEGA, PROTECT, SIIP, SWAN, INGRESS, FastPass or Tabula Rasa. Researchers from all over Europe will present the advances achieved in these projects, provide updates on how results from finished projects are being currently used to improve biometric technology and eventually give an insight into the future of biometric research.

In addition to the research community the conference will offer a more holistic and comprehensive perspective of the status of biometric and identity management technology in Europe with the participation of the following stakeholders:

1. End-users, represented by FRONTEX (border control), ENFSI (forensics) and others<;
2. Policy makers, represented by the Directorate-General of Migration and Home affairs (DG HOME);
3. Managers of large IT-systems, represented by the European Agency eu-LISA in charge of deploying and running European systems such as SIS-II or Eurodac;
4. industrial partners are also welcome to join in order to give their point of view and present the challenges that they face in the development of real-world solutions.

The conference will foster discussion among participants and will include a round-table where all the above communities of practice will put forward their ideas and needs, present the challenges that they face in their daily work and propose solutions.

As such, in addition to provide the latest updates on biometric research carried out in Europe, one of the main objectives of the conference is to bring together all stakeholders to try to find common approaches and strategies to give a coordinated response to the key needs identified by the Union in order to efficiently protect the freedom and security of EU citizens. All the projects in the conference are, in fact, engaged in one of the objectives driving the Union's policy development in order to reach a more secure society (EC COM(2011) 809 final):

1. Fight crime, illegal trafficking and terrorism;
2. Strengthen security through border management;
3. Provide cyber security;
4. Increase Europe's resilience to crises and disasters;
5. Ensure privacy and freedom including the Internet and enhance the societal dimension of security;
6. Enhance standardization and interoperability of systems.