Edge resilience in practice: lessons from seven EU projects ​

This page summarises what we learned by applying GRiSP Boards and the GRiSP-io service in seven EU and EIT projects. We cover supply chain trust, transport-network control, cross-industry 5G trials, CRDT-based edge data, SME access to AI, energy-harvesting IoT and in-network serverless logic. Sources: public project pages and CORDIS entries listed in References. The work aligns with priorities in Horizon Europe Cluster 4, EIT Manufacturing and CELTIC-NEXT.

Executive Summary ​

Peer Stritzinger GmbH is a Bavarian deep-tech SME behind the GRiSP Ecosystem. GRiSP boards boot directly into an Erlang virtual machine on the hardware, while the companion service GRiSP-io provides fleet management and security. Across seven EU and EIT projects we delivered code, pilots and tooling that strengthen trust, improve network control and bring robust edge compute into real industrial settings. These activities align with Cluster 4 priorities on secure digital technologies, advanced computing and future networks, contribute to EIT Manufacturing's mission of competitive and sustainable production, and support CELTIC-NEXT's focus on next-generation communications.

The Challenge ​

Cloud detours add latency that factory robots and control loops cannot spare. Battery replacement drives costs and waste. A static component list cannot attest to the firmware currently running on a remote gateway. Smaller manufacturers need practical paths to deploy AI outside the data centre, and privacy-sensitive sectors prefer analytics to stay on premises. Europe therefore needs edge systems with verifiable origin, local action and energy awareness, designed for open audit and integration.

What We Learned in the Field ​

EH-IoT (2024 to 2025, EIT Manufacturing Activity ID 24091).

Demonstrates self-powered IoT sensing using a curved thermoelectric generator. Pilots run in Portugal, Sweden and Israel. Partners include TEGnology, Alfa Laval, Azitek, University of Trento, ADSR and Peer Stritzinger GmbH.

RESCALE (2023 to 2026, Horizon Europe 101120962). Designs secure-by-design supply chains. Objectives include automated evaluation of software and hardware, auditing and trustworthy evidence. The project site describes a Trust Orchestrator, a Trusted Bill of Materials and evidence recording.

TARGET-X (2023 to 2025, Horizon Europe 101096614). Runs large-scale cross-industry trials at the 5G-Industry Campus Europe in Aachen and at the IDIADA testbed in Spain. Open calls enable SME experiments to validate advanced 5G capabilities in industrial settings.

TeraFlow (2021 to 2023, Horizon 2020 101015857). Built an open-source, cloud-native SDN controller for transport networks beyond 5G. The software continues at ETSI as the TeraFlowSDN open-source group.

StairwAI (2021 to 2023, Horizon 2020 101017142). Helped low-tech SMEs access the AI-on-Demand platform through multilingual guidance and matchmaking.

PICCOLO (2020 to 2022, CELTIC-NEXT label CELTIC-2020-2-732111-PICCOLO). Explored in-network computing and serverless functions in the network fabric, with industrial pilots.

LightKone (2017 to 2019, Horizon 2020 732505). Advanced a model for edge computation using CRDTs and gossip protocols. Published the LightKone Reference Architecture and demonstrated an industrial non-stop RFID use case.

Taken together these projects point to a consistent approach to edge systems. We document the origin and history of every software and hardware component, keep critical logic close to the process so control paths stay short, and treat latency as a parameter to measure and manage. We keep sensitive data local and move only what is necessary, and we design for tight energy budgets, favouring low power and, where it fits, energy harvesting.

Working Patterns at the Edge ​

  • Supply-chain trust. Use machine-readable bills of materials and recorded evidence to trace origin and updates across devices, as described in RESCALE objectives.

  • Networked control. Evaluate traffic engineering with open SDN controllers such as ETSI TeraFlowSDN, and test on industrial pilots like TARGET-X at the 5G-Industry Campus Europe in Aachen and the IDIADA testbed in Spain.

  • Decentralised data. Apply CRDT-based data structures for intermittently connected nodes, following patterns documented in the LightKone Reference Architecture.

  • In-network functions. Place lightweight functions next to machines for low latency, with exchange over OPC UA as explored in PICCOLO.

  • Energy aware sensing. Prototype battery-less nodes and plan for tight power budgets; EH-IoT demonstrates self-powered sensor devices and technology that fits curved surfaces.

Funding and Acknowledgements ​

This work was supported by the following programmes:

Horizon Europe ​

European Union logo

  • RESCALE, grant agreement No 101120962. Funded by the European Union.
  • TARGET-X, grant agreement No 101096614. Funded by the European Union.

Horizon 2020 ​

European Union logo

  • TeraFlow, grant agreement No 101015857. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101015857.
  • StairwAI, grant agreement No 101017142. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101017142.
  • LightKone, grant agreement No 732505. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 732505.

EIT Manufacturing ​

EIT Manufacturing logo

  • EH-IoT, Activity ID 24091. Co-funded by the European Union.

CELTIC-NEXT ​

CELTIC-NEXT logo

  • PICCOLO, label CELTIC-2020-2-732111-PICCOLO. Co-funded by national innovation programmes under the CELTIC-NEXT label.

References ​

  1. CELTIC-NEXT PICCOLO: https://www.celticnext.eu/project-piccolo/
  2. CELTIC-NEXT strategic roadmap: https://www.celticnext.eu/strategic-roadmap/
  3. EH-IoT at TEGnology: https://tegnology.dk/projects/eit-manufacturing/
  4. EIT Manufacturing mission: https://www.eit.europa.eu/sites/default/files/eit_manufacturing_factsheet.pdf
  5. ETSI TeraFlowSDN: https://tfs.etsi.org/about/
  6. GRiSP ecosystem: https://www.grisp.org
  7. GRiSP hardware: https://www.grisp.org/hardware
  8. GRiSP-io: https://grisp.io/
  9. Horizon Europe Cluster 4: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/cluster-4-digital-industry-and-space_en
  10. LightKone CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/732505
  11. LiRA white paper: https://www.lightkone.eu/wp-lightkone/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/LiRA-v0.91.pdf
  12. PICCOLO site: https://piccolo-project.org/
  13. RESCALE CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101120962
  14. RESCALE objectives: https://rescale-project.eu/objectives/
  15. StairwAI CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101017142
  16. TARGET-X site: https://target-x.eu/
  17. TeraFlow project: https://teraflow-h2020.eu/

Interested in Working Together? ​

Are you planning a consortium for Horizon Europe, EIT Manufacturing, or CELTIC-NEXT? We bring proven expertise in GRiSP hardware, GRiSP-io cloud-edge management, and secure embedded systems to strengthen your proposal.

Our track record with EU projects demonstrates our ability to deliver real-world solutions for supply chain trust, network control, edge data management, and energy-aware IoT sensing.

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