Preparing for the massive use of artificial intelligence, bridging infrastructure and cultural gaps, and improving the design of AI applications in the computing context: these are the goals achieved by AI-SPRINT – Artificial Intelligence in Secure PRIvacy-preserving computing coNTinuum, a Horizon 2020 project funded by the European Union and coordinated by Prof. Danilo Ardagna from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, which has just ended.

AI-SPRINT aims to democratize access to AI technologies by simplifying and accelerating the development of artificial intelligence applications through edge computing. The tools developed during the project have been validated by three industrial case studies.

Three case studies, in personalized healthcare, agriculture 4.0, and maintenance and inspection, showed the potential and effectiveness of solutions that can be developed with the AI-SPRINT Studio platform made available on the AI-on-Demand market place.

With regard to personalized healthcare, during the project a system was developed to connect wearable devices (such as smartwatches) directly with physicians, who, thanks to AI analysis of patient parameters, can be alerted in real time when cardiac abnormalities occur. This experimentation will lead to the launch of a start-up.

In agriculture 4.0, on the other hand, the experimentation has led to the development of a monitoring system on agricultural machinery that, thanks to video cameras, allows the effective distribution of plant protection products in real time with a consequent decrease in chemical pollution.

In maintenance and inspection activities, on the other hand, artificial intelligence has been used to carry out immediate reconnaissance of technical problems in wind turbines, thus reducing expenses for technical teams and maintenance costs.