Enhanced ccam funcionalities with outstanding safety and security through edge-ia and new architectures

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the defining technological enabler of Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM). As CCAM systems mature, intelligence must migrate from the cloud to the vehicle (Edge AI) to ensure real-time safety and operational resilience. However, deploying state-of-the-art AI on resource- constrained autmotive hardware creates a massive technical challenge. Essential addresses this by esetablishing a sovereign European Edge-IA ecosystem, bridging the critical gap between Europe´s leadership in hardware and the missing layer of software intelligence. Responding to the EU Chips Act and Automotive Action Plan, Essential secures European sovereignty by mastering both the hardware and software layers of Edge AI. The project unites key actors across the full value chain-incluiding major silicon leaders like Infineon and NXP, OEMs, Tier-1s, and RTOs- to deliver a reference methodology and toolchain for trustworthy, efficient, and certifiable Edge-AI deployment. 

Technically, Essential pioners Fondational Co-Design, where software and hardware are engineered simultaneously rather than sequentially. This approach relies on three complementary pillars: intelligent data exploitation to ensure representative and privacy-preserving datasets for reliable training; hardware-aware  optimization to adapt large neural networks to the strict computational envelope of automative  ECUs without compromising safety; and a continous lifecycle to establish runtime assurance, drift detection, and retraining workflows. Building on the AITHENA methodology and complemeting Chips JU and SDVoF initiatives, Essential extends Trustworthy AI principles to the Edge. It ensures that transparency and robutness mandated by the EU AI Act are preserved even after model compresion and optimization. By delivering an interoperable, sovereign Edge-AI strack, Essential automotive industry to lea in the era of software-defined mobility.