EDGE.md

# ABOUT EDGE.MD

EDGE.md is a working idea: a plain markdown file about the compute and models at the edge of a place, close to where the data is made: a store, a farm, a clinic, a factory floor, a truck. It lists each box on site, what it can run, how an AI agent may reach it, what data may leave, and how to ask for time on a box another team owns. The agent runs small jobs next to the camera or the cash register instead of sending everything to the cloud, and a person says yes before anything changes on site.

## WHAT IT COULD COVER

• - devices: each box, gateway, camera and handheld, by name and location
• - hardware: processor, GPU or NPU, memory, and power or heat limits
• - models: what is loaded, its size and precision, and what it is for
• - reach: the local network or a VPN, never ports opened to the internet
• - data: what stays on site, what may be sent up, and how long it is kept
• - sharing: who owns each box, when it is busy, and how to ask for time on it
• - updates: how a new model or app is rolled out, and rolled back

## HOW IT COULD WORK

• - the box: a small fanless PC or an NVIDIA Jetson module on a shelf in the back room
• - the runtime: llama.cpp for a small language model, ONNX Runtime for a vision model
• - the messages: cameras and sensors publish over MQTT to a broker on the box, on the local network
• - the fleet: k3s or a device manager rolls out containers, keeping the last version for rollback
• - the agent: reads EDGE.md, picks a box that has the model and the room, asks the owner for time on a shared one, and proposes any change

## HARDWARE AND TOOLS IT COULD NAME

• - NVIDIA Jetson: small modules with a GPU, built for robots, cameras and kiosks
• - Raspberry Pi: low-cost single-board computers, with add-on boards that carry an AI accelerator
• - Google Coral: Edge TPU accelerators for small vision models, as USB and plug-in cards
• - llama.cpp: runs quantized language models on ordinary processors and small GPUs, using the GGUF file format
• - ONNX Runtime: runs models saved in the open ONNX format on many kinds of hardware
• - MQTT: a light publish-and-subscribe messaging standard, common for sensors
• - k3s and KubeEdge: a small Kubernetes distribution, and a project that extends Kubernetes to edge devices

## WHO IT COULD HELP

• - retailers: count empty shelf space from a store camera, on a box in the back, with no video leaving
• - farms: run a crop or pest model on a gateway in a barn with a weak link
• - factories: flag defects on the line next to the camera, with a person deciding to stop the line
• - clinics: transcribe on a machine in the building, and keep the audio there
• - restaurants: plan prep from the cash register's sales, on a box in the office

Cameras, registers and sensors make far more data than the link out of a building can carry, and much of it should not leave. Small open-weight models now run on hardware that fits on a shelf, so the question is less whether to run models on site and more which box, which model, and who says yes.

## A SKETCH

```md
---
edge: draft
---
# EDGE.md
- site: store 14, back office, made-up example
- box: shelf-pc, 16 GB memory, small GPU, fanless
- gateway: stockroom router, local network only
- models: 3B text model, 4-bit; shelf-camera vision model
- cameras: 4, video stays on the box, kept 7 days
- register: hourly sales totals, read-only
- send_up: hourly counts and summaries, never video or faces
- offline: keep counting, send when the link is back
- shared: inventory team has the box 1 am to 5 am
- jobs: under 2 hours alone, 2 hours or more needs a yes
- updates: a new model only after a yes, keep the last one
- never: open a port to the internet, or reach other stores
```

## DISCLAIMER

EDGE.md does not sell, rent, run or manage devices or models, and it does not connect to anything. The file states limits; your network, device settings, contracts and the law are what enforce them. Cameras and microphones can capture people, and privacy and recording laws differ by state and country, so check them before you point a model at a space people use. The site, devices and numbers in the sketch are made up. Products named here are described for reference only, with no affiliation or endorsement.

EDGE.md is an informational page. It is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, and may be incomplete, inaccurate or out of date. Nothing here is financial, investment, legal, tax, insurance, medical, engineering, safety or other professional advice, or an offer or solicitation of any kind. The sketch is an illustration, not a standard or a recommendation. Names of third-party products or companies, if any, are used only to describe them; no affiliation or endorsement is implied. Use at your own risk. This page sets no cookies and runs no scripts or analytics; like any website, its host keeps standard request logs.