Experimental phase
The experimental phase of the WatchEDGE project for the RESTART program has started. Wild boars, deer and wolves have been put under observation at San Rossore Park (Pisa) for the use-case focused on monitoring wildlife by combining artificial intelligence, next-generation sensors and innovative connectivity solutions. The goal is to equip rural operators and workers, from farmers to national park managers, with tools capable of monitoring various phenomena, from forest fires to plant parasites. WatchEDGE is in fact developing a technological infrastructure capable of supporting surveillance applications based on AI image processing, to create an efficient and sustainable system with potential use – in this case – in agriculture, forestry and environmental protection. The management of wild animals, in particular, is an increasingly felt need especially in rural areas, where their presence can cause damage to agriculture, in addition to the spread of diseases among livestock. And damage to the environment too: in the case of overpopulation, for example, fallow deer can slow down to the point of stopping the regeneration of the flora on whose shoots they feed.
Continuous monitoring of large mammals
The project focuses on the integration of processing, storage and communication to create intelligent networks capable of processing data in real time as it travels on the network. The first experiments took place in the Pineta and Torre Riccardi areas between March 3 and 5 at the San Rossore Park, where continuous monitoring of large mammals has already been carried out for decades with censuses based on traditional methods. The Park is very interested in the new tools and methods that WatchEDGE is studying, as they could be used in the future to facilitate these operations. For the first tests, WatchEDGE positioned photo traps based on smart prototype cameras with artificial intelligence for the immediate classification and counting of animals, observed day and night. The speed and movements of the fauna were analyzed using multi-frequency Doppler radar, which was also monitored from above using drones equipped with multispectral and thermal cameras, also used to examine the vegetation below.
Algorithm training
For the wireless connection in the field between Edge Computing nodes and smart sensors, a 5G Nomad solution was chosen. Since private 5G requires an authorized operator, WiFi alternatives have been tested for the time being and, during the tests, thousands of videos have been collected and analyzed to improve the training of AI algorithms. Nomadic Edge Computing prototypes have also been tested (one integrated into the 5G Nomad system and one developed by Italtel). WatchEDGE is also focusing on experimenting with SD-WAN technology, which allows for a stable connection even in remote areas, integrating different types of networks (Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, satellite). This allows for the collection and transmission of large amounts of data reliably and at low costs. The experimentation involved the multiple know-how of the consortium partners, brought together under the aegis of the PNRR RESTART program, coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Milan and composed of three other universities (University of Pisa, University of Catania, University of Milan Bicocca), three companies (Italtel, Nextworks, Sensor ID) and a research center (CNIT RaSS of Pisa), in collaboration with the Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli Regional Park Authority of the Tuscany Region.
The ultimate goal
In the coming months, the development of the service orchestration system is expected to be completed, which will allow distributed training of AI models (for example, Federated Learning and Continual Learning), to improve performance without transferring large amounts of images across the network. The final integration of the system will allow new experiments to be carried out in the San Rossore Park. The final goal of WatchEDGE will be to transform research into technological solutions that can also be applied in industrial settings. «WatchEDGE was designed to direct basic research towards solutions with an impact on a specific important economic sector – says Guido Maier, coordinator and professor of Telecommunications at the Politecnico di Milano – All eight partners shared this approach. The three industrial partners were able to identify opportunities for technology transfer towards new potential products in the project. At the same time, the academic partners are studying advanced engineering solutions that can be integrated and tested in the proposed system. The Politecnico di Milano, the project leader, is committed to developing AI for image processing and programmable SD-WAN network elements. The collaboration with the San Rossore Park is essential both to test our solutions in the field and for the mutual exchange of ideas and experiences. The first experimental campaign will be followed by other in situ activities, until the end of the project and hopefully beyond».
A completely liquid artificial intelligence
"The development of artificial intelligence applications for environmental monitoring cannot ignore cooperation with the network - explained Stefano Giordano, professor of Telecommunications at the University of Pisa - The network infrastructure, however, is composed of heterogeneous technologies that must be made increasingly capable of integrating and interacting with each other. As part of the WatchEDGE project, the University of Pisa has managed the interaction between the satellite network, the 5G network, Edge Computing and low-energy peripheral networks for communication between cameras in the field. In the future, our research is aimed at making these functions, now tested in a static way, increasingly dynamic, trying to obtain what we have called a completely liquid artificial intelligence".
The other projects
"We are a Park open to science and experiments that lead to greater environmental awareness, and to developing new techniques to improve the coexistence between human activities and nature - says Claudia Principe, vice president of the Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli Regional Park Authority - This cutting-edge activity joins other projects that we are carrying out thanks to PNRR funds, and that lead us to design a better and more eco-sustainable future". "For the RESTART program, the experimentation carried out by the WatchEDGE project represents a significant example of what we aim to achieve at the end of our three years of activity - says Professor Nicola Blefari Melazzi, president of the RESTART Foundation - Transforming research into concrete technological solutions, with real impacts for fundamental economic sectors such as agriculture, is what RESTART wants to guarantee by putting technology at the service of a safer and more sustainable future". WatchEDGE (Wide-area Agile and flying neTwork arCHitecture for AI-surveillance processing at the EDGE), a focused and industrial project, part of the PNRR “RESTART” program, started in January 2023 and has a duration of three years. It is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, with a budget of 1 million euros out of a total of 116 million of the RESTART program (source: Parco di San Rossore).
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