Objectives

The SPRINT project (Supporting Project to Restart on Intelligent Networks for Telecommunications) is funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), supported by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU program. Specifically, the funding comes from a cascading grant issued within the extended partnership RESTART (RESearch and innovation on future Telecommunications systems and networks, to make Italy more smART - official website). RESTART is organized in a Hub-and-Spoke structure, where the Hub, represented by the RESTART Foundation, coordinates and manages the activities of 8 Spokes, each dedicated to a key scientific theme.

RESTART is the most ambitious public research and development program ever implemented in Italy in the telecommunications sector. Its research activities focus on:

• High-capacity fixed networks;
• Cellular networks (5G/6G);
• Local area networks;
• Satellite networks;
• Internet, applications, and services.

The technologies developed will have an impact on a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, commerce, energy, finance, industry, media, health, security, and transportation. Furthermore, the program will explore and promote innovative technologies such as distributed cloud systems, networks for artificial intelligence applications, programmable hardware architectures, integrated optics, optical computing, optoelectronics, and sensors.

Partners

The SPRINT project, as part of the RESTART program, involves numerous universities, research institutions, and companies. The full list of partners can be found at the following links:

• Program partners
• Cascade funding partners

Role of DIEM

Within the SPRINT project, the Department of Information Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Applied Mathematics (DIEM) is involved in the activities of Spoke 8 (Intelligent and Autonomous Systems), with a specific focus on the following aspects:

1. Data analysis algorithms for next-generation networks (5G and 6G)

The objective is to develop strategies and distributed inference algorithms enabling network-connected devices (e.g., smartphones and IoT devices), often limited in computational power and data, to perform complex data analysis tasks. This approach, based on the “Network for Intelligence” paradigm, aims to leverage network cooperation to enhance the intelligence of individual devices.

2. Detection and mitigation of network attacks

A second crucial objective is to develop innovative algorithms for detecting and mitigating distributed network attacks. Such attacks exploit the distributed nature of the network to mask their sources, making them appear similar to legitimate users. Next-generation networks, being less explored compared to traditional architectures, represent a particularly vulnerable area. To address these challenges, it is essential to design advanced solutions for detecting and mitigating distributed cyberattacks.