How Edge Intelligence Can Be Used In Safety-Critical Environments

InnovationHow Edge Intelligence Can Be Used In Safety-Critical EnvironmentsByDavid Julian,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)Jun 01, 2026, 12:15pm EDTDavid Julian is the CTO and cofounder of Netradyne. gettyPicture this: At a construction site, two excavators are digging into the ground. A bulldozer idles nearby, its operator waiting to move in once the area is cleared for grading. Meanwhile, workers are moving around between the machines. The combination of people and heavy equipment may create a ​dangerous situation. Several miles away, an 18-wheeler carrying hazardous chemicals is en route to deliver its load to local businesses. Passenger vehicles are whizzing by, some even cutting off the truck. If the truck driver reacts a second too late, a tragedy could occur. ​These are just two of many examples of situations where high-stakes decisions happen—and where seconds, even milliseconds, matter. In some of those environments, uploading data to the cloud may be inefficient due to slow internet speeds, making it challenging for cloud solutions to process and deliver critical information in real time. If there's no internet connectivity, it's impossible for cloud solutions to process and deliver critical information in real time. That’s where edge intelligence can step in. The Difference Between Edge Intelligence And Cloud-Based AI Edge intelligence is a form of AI that runs locally on devices (such as heavy equipment, vehicles, cameras and sensors) rather than in the cloud. Edge intelligence can power physical AI systems, enabling real-time perception and action in the physical world. ​In the earlier examples, if the excavators, bulldozer and 18-wheeler were equipped with cameras and sensors running edge AI models, the operators would be able to receive real-time alerts if workers got too close. Be...