On April 11th, 2024, the Horizon Europe dAIEDGE Network of Excellence (NoE) project organised a "Workshop on Edge AI functional and non-functional requirements", which took place in Dresden, Germany. The event was planned and implemented in collaboration with the Chips JU EdgeAI project and other leading European projects (ANDANTE, CLEVER, REBECCA). The workshop provided a platform for exchanging ideas, concepts, and future trends to develop a roadmap for the next generation of AI at the edge.
The workshop attracted researchers from various institutions such as CSEM, DFKI, Dresden University, FORTH, Fraunhofer IIS, IMST GmbH, KU Leuven (CiTiP), SoftwareCube, SINTEF, and University of Lübeck.
During the workshop, the taxonomy, and methodological aspects of collecting functional and non-functional requirements for edge AI were addressed. Key edge AI roadmap topics were identified to synthesise the current state of research, standardisation, emerging trends, future visions, and innovation demands for next-generation edge AI concepts, with the aim of structuring and preparing an edge AI strategic research agenda.
The dAIEDGE project coordinator, Alain Pagani (DFKI), introduced the NoE concept and objectives, followed by Ovidiu Vermesan (SINTEF), the Chips JU EdgeAI project coordinator, who presented the project goals and the definition and concepts of edge AI and its continuum.
One of the workshop's highlights was the panel discussion on edge AI's functional and non-functional requirements. During the meeting, the experts defined, discussed, and analysed these requirements, including trustworthiness, ethical and legal considerations. The aim was to align these AI-based technologies and applications across the entire micro, deep, and meta-edge continuum and work together with other European initiatives and associations to overcome the fragmentation in AI research in Europe.
The workshop was a significant step forward in exploring the future of edge AI. The workshop participants and the projects they represent planned to extend the cooperation and continue collaborating as part of the European edge AI ecosystem to drive innovation and contribute to developing advanced and innovative edge AI technologies and applications.