The BRAINE consortium project, funded under grant 16MEE0021, ran from 1 May 2020 to 30 November 2023 and aimed to deliver next‑generation electronics for edge computing. The effort produced a fully functional Edge Micro Data Center (EMDC) prototype that demonstrates all key performance indicators and real‑world use cases. The prototype integrates a heterogeneous mix of compute nodes, including Intel and AMD x86‑64 CPUs, NXP ARM cores, NVIDIA Xavier AGX GPUs, and NVMe storage modules. This diversity allows the system to assign workloads to the most suitable processor type, improving overall efficiency.
Hardware innovation is highlighted by several co‑developed components: the B7E3 CPU, Jetson Xavier AGX System‑on‑Module, Type VII CPU modules, Solidrun LX2162 SOM, a Mellanox Ethernet switch, and custom backplane PCBs. The EMDC employs a 48‑V power rail and a two‑phase cooling scheme that together reduce power consumption and maintain thermal stability, contributing to system reliability. Network performance is a key feature, with each node supporting 100 Gbps links and programmable networking, while TLS acceleration boosts secure data transfer. A Gen 4 PCIe fabric switch with low latency further enhances intra‑system data exchange.
The project designed 24 printed circuit boards: ten fully functional main system boards, eight dedicated to thermal and mechanical validation, and five for debugging, validation, and programming. Software tools complement the hardware, providing end‑to‑end data management and AI integration. The Data Lifecycle Manager records immutable user data usage, the Data Transformation Tool tracks data transformations and computational graphs, and the Data Transformation Tool maps data transformations and computational graphs. Together, these tools enable secure, traceable, and efficient processing of data streams.
Collaboration involved Infineon Technologies AG as the funding recipient and project lead, with additional partners from academia and industry. Work Package 6, led by IFX, focused on technology dissemination, standardization, and commercialization. Partners contributed to international standard bodies such as ISO, ETSI, W3C, O‑RAN, and IETF, producing four standardization streams: ISO 17825, TLS/SSL contributions with NVIDIA/Mellanox, edge‑related standards for O‑RAN and 3GPP, and semantic web initiatives. The consortium developed a commercialization strategy, a business plan for key use cases, and a sustainability plan for the EMDC platform. Outreach activities included conference papers, a maintained website, and social media presence. The project’s timeline included a mid‑term evaluation at month 37 and a final report at month 43, ensuring alignment with the original schedule.
This integrated hardware‑software approach positions the BRAINE EMDC as a leading edge computing platform, offering high performance, energy efficiency, and secure networking, while the collaborative framework ensures that the technology is standardized, commercialized, and adopted by the broader industry.