A research team from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering – Politecnico di Milano, coordinated by Prof. Guido Maier, took part in the experimental phase of the WatchEDGE project under the RESTART programme. Wild boar, fallow deer and wolves were placed under observation at the San Rossore Park (Pisa) for the use case focused on monitoring wildlife by combining artificial intelligence, next-generation sensors and innovative connectivity solutions.
The aim is to equip companies and workers in rural areas — from farmers to national park managers — with tools to control phenomena ranging from forest fires to plant pests. In fact, WatchEDGE is developing a technology infrastructure capable of supporting surveillance applications based on AI image processing to create an efficient and sustainable system with potential uses in agriculture, forestry and environmental protection.
The project focuses on integrating processing, storage and communication to create intelligent networks capable of processing data in real time as it travels over the network. The first tests took place in the Pineta and Torre Riccardi areas of San Rossore Park between 3 and 5 March. Large mammals have been continuously monitored here for decades with censuses based on traditional methods. For the first tests, WatchEDGE placed photo traps based on prototype smart cameras equipped with artificial intelligence for immediate animal classification and counting both during the day and at night. The animals’ speeds and movements were analysed using multi-frequency Doppler radar, and they were monitored from above as well using drones equipped with multispectral and thermal cameras, which were also used to examine the vegetation below.
For the experimentation, the varied know-how of partners in the consortium was brought together under the aegis of the NRRP RESTART programme, which is coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano and includes three other universities (University of Pisa, University of Catania, University of Milano-Bicocca), three companies (Italtel, Nextworks, Sensor ID) and a research centre (CNIT RaSS in Pisa), in collaboration with the Tuscany Region Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli Regional Park Authority.
In the coming months, the development of the service orchestration system is expected to be completed, which will enable distributed training of AI models to improve performance without transferring large numbers of images across the network. The final integration of the system will allow new experiments to be carried out in the San Rossore Park. The ultimate goal of WatchEDGE is to transform research into technological solutions that can also be applied in industrial settings.
