FRACTAL
Project Overview
To achieve industrial edge computing, new devices are required to satisfy a new set of challenging requirements such as time-predictability, dependability, energy-efficiency, and security.
The aim of FRACTAL is to create a reliable computing platform node, realizing a so-called Cognitive Edge under industry standards.
This computing platform node will be the building block of scalable decentralized Internet of Things (ranging from Smart Low-Energy Computing Systems to High- Performance Computing Edge Nodes).
Cognitivity is provided by Artificial Intelligence methods, supported by internal and external architectures that allow the (platform) node to proactively adapt to changes in the surrounding world. Hence, this node will have the capability of learning in real-time how to improve its performance and dependability despite the uncertainty of the environment. However, while these features are critically important, focusing only on them leaves aside the enhancement opportunities brought by the continuous emergence of more powerful solutions in the area of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Systems of Systems (SoS) and Internet of Things (IoT). For instance, opportunities coming from advanced microelectronics, high-performance computing, smart system integration, and improved cloud services have traditionally been mostly neglected. Missing those opportunities may easily make the node fail to meet the stringent requirements for increased autonomy coming from the new application domains.
As a result of the integration of these cognitive systems into an edge fractal network, there will be an intrinsic crucial advantage, a combination of safety, adaptability and emergence of new possibilities. Therefore, new industrial functions will flourish through the created space of possibilities of our cognitive systems. This scalable fractal network will transfer all those cognitive advantages to a new Cognitive Edge, a computing paradigm that lies between the physical world and the cloud.
