AI-as-a-Service for the Deep Edge

Project Information

BonsAPPs

Grant agreement ID: 101015848

DOI

10.3030/101015848

Project closed

EC signature date 3 December 2020

Start date 1 January 2021

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 5 313 588,04

EU contribution

€ 4 999 577,50

Coordinated by

HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALE
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BonsAPPs (AI-as-a-Service for the Deep Edge)

Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2022-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

BonsApps will develop a fully functional (TRL-8), scalable AI-as-a-Service layer (AI-aaS) that will interoperate with the AI on demand platform as an external service. The service layer will enhance an existing AI platform (Bonseyes Marketplace) to cover experimentation, benchmarking, deployment and secure licensing of AI solutions at the Deep Edge.

Project-funded Use Cases will demonstrate how Bonseyes Marketplace Platform simplifies timeconsuming non-functional tasks in AI design, produces AI at a lower cost and offers specific means to scale innovations once put into the market. Two rounds of use cases will drive supply from AI professionals and demand from End Users to explore the potential gains of AI at the Deep Edge. End users, mainly SMEs/non-tech users lacking internal innovation capacities, will receive guidance in launching Industry Challenges fitting their needs. Specialized AI developers and integrators (AI Talents) will engage with them into an open innovation cycle to solve challenges; Edge AI Apps will be developed and integrated in Solutions at the Deep Edge using different deployment platforms.

Coordinated by the HES-SO supported by the BCA (Bonseyes Community Association), both aware of existing barriers to bring AI innovations into the market, eight complementary partners participate: six technology partners in charge of frontend, backend , security and licensing and interoperability with development platforms, (will also provide technical support to the Use Case Owners); a specialist in Open Call Management; a specialist in digital business coordinating communication and dissemination. AI Talents involved will also have the possibility, under specific re-use licensing framework, of commercializing these results (develop new Apps/Solutions for other end users).

Engagement of all relevant audiences (AI4EU community, AI researchers/developers, non-tech SMEs, clusters and value-chain leaders) is secured by the outreach capacities of partners to startups, corporate-led/RTO-led AI and Digital Innovation Hubs.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first reporting period (M1-M18), BonsAPPs organized its 1st Open Call for AI Talents though which 30 projects (Use Cases) were selected for support programme and funding funded. Those Use Cases (AI Challenges) have demonstrated how Bonseyes AI Marketplace Platform simplifies time consuming non-functional tasks in AI@Edge design, produces AI@Edge at a lower cost and offers specific means to scale innovations. As main outcome of the first round of use cases (1st Support Programme), selected AI Talents have solved industrial challenges by providing AI Apps at the Deep Edge using different deployment platforms.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The BonsAPPs service layer of the BMP provides the reuse of data, meta data, and models among separate legal entities, to significantly reduce design and development time in building systems of artificial intelligence. It supports many actors in the AI value chain such as Challenge Providers, Data Providers, Data Scientists, Application Developers, Infrastructure Providers, and Solution Integrators. Most of the other available platforms are either vendor-specific or do not provide entire value chain from challenges to deployment. BonsAPPs targets high impact societal applications such as robotics, healthcare, automotive, and manufacturing that demand low latency, real-time, low power AI systems of systems while preserving user privacy. Its potential impacts are significant to:

Boost competitiveness through top European intelligent product/service research while reducing CAPEX, experts, and time to adoption.

Boost technology transfer through the mobilization of talent, innovation hubs, pilots with integrated and reusable assets, tools, and European industry user-driven challenges.

Boost tech convergence through fertilizing technology leadership, AI coalitions and interworking sharing current market best practices in deployment of AI with distributed and decentralized technologies.

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