IDS4Edge: Helping factories share data the smart way

At the 40th ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC ’25), SINTEF presented the paper “Context-driven Edge-based Data Sharing for Industrial IoT Data Spaces“. This paper introduced IDS4Edge, a new way to share data securely and intelligently in connected factories.

IDS4Edge is now a key part of COGNIMAN, where it helps make sure factories can share data safely, smartly and only with the people who need it. It’s all about making data sharing simpler and more useful in real factory environments.

What is COGNIMAN?

COGNIMAN’s goal is to make manufacturing more flexible, efficient and intelligent by combining artificial intelligence, robotics and digital twins. To do that, factories need a reliable way to share data across machines, systems and even different companies. IDS4Edge helps solve that problem.

What does IDS4Edge do?

Developed by SINTEF as an extension of the SINDIT Digital Twin, IDS4Edge helps factories control who sees what data and when. It uses context to decide what information to share and with whom.

For example:

• A customer can see live updates on their order
• A supplier can check stock levels in real time
• An AI developer can use anonymised machine data to improve algorithms, without accessing sensitive information

It’s all about sharing the right data with the right people at the right time.

Based on trusted standards

IDS4Edge is built on the International Data Spaces (IDS) model, developed by the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA). This helps different systems and companies share data using common, secure standards — a bit like everyone speaking the same digital language.

In summary

IDS4Edge supports COGNIMAN’s aim to solve manufacturing challenges by making sure data is shared in a secure, controlled and useful way. It’s not just about collecting data. It’s about using it wisely and making it work for everyone involved in the production process — from suppliers and engineers to customers and AI systems.