Low-power wireless technology tends to be used today for simple monitoring applications, in which raw sensor data is reported periodically to a server for analysis. The ambition of the OpenSwarm project is to trigger the next revolution in these data-driven systems by developing true collaborative and distributed smart nodes, through groundbreaking R&I in three technological pillars: efficient networking and management of smart nodes, collaborative energy-aware Artificial Intelligence (AI), and energy-aware swarm programming. Results are implemented in an open software package called “OpenSwarm”, which is verified in our labs on two 1,000 node testbeds. OpenSwarm is then validated in five real-world proof-of-concept use cases, covering four application domains: Renewable Energy Community (Cities & Community), Supporting Human Workers in Harvesting (Environmental), Ocean Noise Pollution Monitoring (Environmental), Health and Safety in Industrial Production Sites (Industrial/Health), Moving Networks in Trains (Mobility). A comprehensive dissemination, exploitation, and communication plan (including a diverse range of activities related to standardization, educational and outreach, open science, and startup formations) amplifies the expected impacts of OpenSwarm, achieving a step change enabling novel, future energy-aware swarms of collaborative smart nodes with wide range benefits for the environment, industries, and society.