The CustomAI project, “AI technologies for enhancing capabilities, greater efficiency and effectiveness for customs“, aims to develop a toolkit based on artificial intelligence (AI-toolkit) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of customs controls within the European Union by reducing the number of false positives in goods inspections.

European customs authorities play a vital role in preventing the entry of illegal goods, protecting public revenues, and ensuring the smooth flow of legitimate trade. However, the increasing volume of international trade and the limitation of human resources make it increasingly difficult to balance security and efficiency at border controls.

To address this challenge, the CustomAI consortium will integrate robust, non-intrusive AI-powered technologies to more accurately predict, detect, and select high-risk cargo. The concept of Virtual Customs Control Operations (VCCO) will be essential for digitally managing the inspection processes of items such as containers and packages.

Fundación Valenciaport’s main role in the project is to identify the needs of port users and the interests related to transport control. It will also assess current regulations and define a use case to demonstrate the developed technologies in a real operational environment such as the Port of Valencia.

The Foundation will also act as a liaison with security bodies, including Guardia Civil, AEAT, and the port police, providing key information on current container traffic management procedures. In addition, it will coordinate container testing to validate results, evaluating both response times and the reliability of the system.

In this context, contacts will be established with logistics and port-related companies such as Raminatrans or IDlogistic, with the aim of conducting detection tests to verify the system’s effectiveness and adapt it to existing control and inspection requirements.