Smart Infrastructure

Smart infrastructure is cross-domain by nature. Any modern industrial site covering large areas, in which buildings, industrial installations, specialized equipment, cars and sometimes also other vehicles are present, requires reliable and secure connectivity means for management of usually complex business tasks or operations in a well-timed, efficient and safe way. When such well cross-connected connected infrastructure will be supported by AI/ML-enriched algorithms operating both on edge devices and in the cloud, such industrial infrastructure, be it a large manufacturing facility (e.g. oil refinery) full of industrial piping installations, port area (e.g. cargo port or seaport) – a maritime commercial facility that specializes in loading and unloading operations connected to passengers or cargo with cranes and straddle carriers or an airport, will become smart. Such smart infrastructure has to have complex infrastructure well connected via different communication means, including wireless communication extensively used across the site, with different transport and operation-oriented means focused on tasks specific to the infrastructure. European industry, in order to keep or even reinforce its position in technologies that may be used in smart infrastructure systems and applications has to use the opportunity created by upcoming 5G communication era with millimetre wave-based systems allowing for huge bandwidths and very low latencies, which can be used in extremely dependable IoT solutions including edge devices for fast and cost-efficient processing based on AI/ML algorithms. Such complex solutions will be successfully implemented in future smart infrastructure applications for decision support and process optimization only they will be proven to be secure and reliable.

InSecTT project will provide a number of technologies that can be utilized in future smart infrastructure systems, with special focus on reliable and secure (including interference and jamming detection, identification, localization and mitigation – monitor & response – mechanisms) AI/ML-enriched V2X wireless communication systems. This approach will rely on existing strengths of EU industry, from Integrated Circuits (IC) to complete system providers for other than smart infrastructure domains, mainly automotive and building. By provide secure and reliable connectivity between industrial infrastructure elements and cross-domain transportation means InSecTT project will broaden existing European value chains and create new ones, and in consequence the project will, by creating new synergies between existing EU players, provide considerable added and impact jobs and wealth creation in European countries. It is expected, that, by applying reliable, secure and testable (e.g. by V&V testing methods to be developed within InSecTT project) AI/ML algorithms a number of new products will be created out of the existing one – for example V2X and other wireless communication systems that will be considered reliable in industrial environments full of metal installations, dedicated structures or buildings immune to unwanted propagation effects (e.g. multipath propagation, interference, possible jamming attacks). Implementing secure and reliable wireless communication to industrial sites InSecTT ambition is to create “made in Europe” solutions for smart infrastructure that will increase safety and improve the overall efficiency of business tasks and other operations. Additionally, by utilizing cloud-based services (e.g. using FiWARE/Red Hat Fuse 7 integration approach) to allow development and operation of secure and trustable collaborative applications, it will allow for cross-domain solutions that will eventually increase industrial facilities’ business operations and processes efficiency by utilizing information about object’s (people, vehicles, tools, equipment etc.) positions produced by intelligent wireless communication links.

Moreover, InSecTT project will not only focus on InSecTT project partners, but also will go far beyond the original consortium. Among InSecTT activities is end-user engagement via open innovation approach, which will encourage other entities, e.g. seaports, smaller river ports, airports or industrial site owners, to connect with the project and have early access to test results. Additionally, InSecTT project will connect different ICT-oriented cluster and will offer an early access to cross-domain use cases to enrich then by third-party applications that can be connected to InSecTT systems via open-source cloud-based services planned to be set up (e.g. FiWARE/Red Hat Fuse 7 test platform) for InSecTT partners.

Finally, from global perspective, by ensuring secure connected, cooperative and automated mobility and transportation across smart infrastructure, it is envisioned that InSecTT will have its impact on improved port (e.g .seaport or airport) and logistics infrastructure and operations (e.g. in a large industrial site), better shore-based monitoring and surveillance, better energy efficiency, more flexible and adaptive ship or plane operations and better integration of the logistics chain that will eventually lead to fully integrated multi-modal traffic applied to automotive, building aerospace, railway and maritime industries fully integrated with road/rail/air/sea/river transport. In consequence, InSecTT project will be an important contribution to the logistics sector and InSecTT solutions can be used in future smart infrastructure in tracking assets, optimising supply chain networks and establishing secure and reliable cloud-based connectivity solutions for logistics to increase overall efficiency, productivity and environmental friendliness of logistic processes. Proposed in InSecTT project integration of 5G sensors, edge-based AI/ML-enriched processing and dependable connectivity solutions, including local-area millimetre wave communication, can be a key to future Logistics 4.0 solutions, technologies, products and services of EU origin.

To better understand how InSecTT project will impact future employment, economic development and the environment within smart infrastructure, port area impact can be analysed as exemplary smart infrastructure sub-domain being one of the most important sectors for EU economy. 2 200 port operators in 22 EU maritime Member States represent 1.5 million direct jobs (e.g. maintenance and operation of maritime infrastructures, ship operations and services, land transport, logistics activities, cargo services) and up to 3 million indirect jobs[1]. Because the costs and quality of port services are a major factor for European business, three of the best performing European ports (Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam) account for one fifth of all goods arriving into Europe by sea. This produces huge inefficiencies – longer routes, major traffic detours, longer sea and land trips and finally more transport emissions, more congestion to the detriment of EU citizens and the economy. A 50% growth of cargo handled in EU ports is predicted by 2030.  This growth is an opportunity for economic growth and more jobs – European Commission has estimated that by 2030 between 110 000 and 165 000 new jobs can be created in ports. But most of Europe’s ports need to be more efficient to handle the increased traffic[2]. The situation is even more pronounced, if logistics and multimodal transport is considered[3]. Therefore, interconnected, reliable and secure smart infrastructure systems backed by controllable AI-based algorithms, which are able to mitigate false or unpredictable AI decisions, developed within InSecTT project will play an important role in securing those jobs and improving EU economy as they are dedicated to improve the overall performance of maritime ports, airports and other complex industrial sites.

Predicted quantifiable metrics and targets including end users are:

  • 25% reduction of time required to integrate cross-domain solutions
  • 15% reduction of time required for authorization and identification processes
  • Increased the level of reliability and security of wireless sensor network through deployment of smart (AI-enritched) components (will be measured using methods proposed within this proposal)

 

 

[1] http://pprism.espo.be/

[2] www.ec.europa.eu/transport

[3] www.ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/logistics_multimodal_en

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