The exponential proliferation of big data and computation-intensive tasks, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in factories, poses a significant challenge for the current datacenter-focused technological architecture. The “Big data pRocessing and Artificial Intelligence at the Network Edge” (BRAINE) project addresses this problem by introducing an innovative system architecture designed explicitly for compute-intensive edge deployments. BRAINE focuses on decentralizing the computation tasks, enabling a significant reduction in latency, and optimizing the placement of applications within a cloud-edge continuum to ensure optimal operational efficiency. This paper presents the design, implementation, and testing of our novel system architecture in the context of an AI digital twin for factory robotics. Our empirical results indicate substantial improvements in performance metrics such as processing speed and latency compared to traditional architectures and approaches.