Project “SMARTBOX 2 - Advanced integration of Artificial Intelligence solutions and Edge, Fog, and Cloud architectures in assistive and commercial home automation applications” - Funded by the Marche Region Marche ID 17242)

The project, presented as part of the call for proposals titled “Supporting the Competitiveness of Made in Italy through the Development of Innovative Applications Aimed at Revitalizing Production Chains Affected by the Earthquake,” The Smart Box 2 project aimed to develop an innovative building automation system focused on the safety and automation of living spaces, based on cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning technologies and new distributed edge, fog, and cloud architectures, built around the concept of integrating devices into sensitive spaces, with a strong focus on a home automation market capable of promoting simple, low-cost solutions integrated into systems for the construction or renovation of buildings.

The project is set against the backdrop of the evolution of home automation toward the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Smart Box 2 represents the evolution of the previous Smart Box project toward new technologies and business models related to fog and cloud services and AI. It combines the cross-disciplinary expertise of sensor and advanced electronics developers with that of home automation and AI technology manufacturers to achieve a highly innovative result in the field of future spaces: “smart spaces refer to built environments such as apartments, offices, museums, hospitals, schools, malls, university campuses, and outdoor areas that are enabled for the cooperation of smart objects and systems, and for ubiquitous interaction with visitors.”

The project’s key results have led to innovations across all of the companies’ main product lines compared to the current state of the art and the market, driving a shift toward servitization in their business models and expanding their presence in international markets through the new products and service models described above.

Among the key findings of the research are the multimedia nodes developed and integrated into the researchers’ sensor networks: these are true intelligent electronic eyes, highly flexible in their applications, capable—through modern deep learning approaches—of understanding human behavior, analyzing changes within man-made spaces, classifying hazardous situations, and so on.

These analyses were, in turn, integrated within the project’s microservices-based cloud environment with other data from the environment in order to improve the accuracy of all behavior analysis systems, access control systems, alarm systems, and systems related to environmental safety.

European Union funding: €114,150.00.