Edge Computing: Benefits and IoT use cases - Pratiti Technologies

Posted by Pratiksha on October 28th, 2021

Edge computing brings a number of benefits to the Internet of Things. Reduced delays, improved endurance and availability, lower costs, and local data retention (helping with compliance) to name a few. In my last blog post I explored some of these benefits as a way to better define where the limit is. Now let’s take a look at how computer benefits on the edge play out in real-world IoT application environments.

Benefit No. 1: Reduced latency

Many applications have strict delay requirements, but when it comes to security and safety requests, delays can be a matter of life or death. For example, think of a car with a brake pedal or a roadblock that alerts motorists to potential dangers. When data is sent to the cloud and analyzed, and the response is returned to the vehicle or signal, lives may be at stake. But let\'s break down the numbers for fun.

It says the Florida Department of Transport is considering a cloud service to host applications for its roadside signs. One of the vendors on the short DoT list is a cloud in California. DoT delay requirement is less than 15ms. The light speed of the fiber is approximately 5 μs / km. Distance from the east coast of the U.S. to the west coast is approximately 5,000 km. Make calculations and the result of a round-trip delay is 50ms. It\'s pure physics. If the DoT requires a real-time response, it should move the computer closer to the devices.

Benefit No. 2: Improved stability/availability

Critical infrastructure requires a high level of availability and robustness to ensure the safety and continuity of services. Consider a gas leak detection system. It must be able to operate without access to the Internet. If the system is offline and there is a leak, that is the problem. The calculation should be done at the end. In this case, the limit may be on the system itself.

While not a life-threatening consumer situation, commercial activities may also benefit from the availability provided by edge computing. Vendors want their Point of Sale (PoS) programs to be available 100% of the time to serve customers. But some retail stores are located in remote areas with unreliable WAN connections. Moving PoS systems to compute edge enables marketers to maintain high availability.

Benefit No. 3: Reduced costs

The bandwidth almost never ends, but it comes at a cost. Edge computing allows organizations to reduce bandwidth costs by processing data before crossing the WAN. This benefit applies to any situation, but here are two examples of use where this is most evident: video surveillance and security maintenance. For example, an HD video camera installed in one city may produce 1,296GB per month. Distributing that data via LTE simplifies the cost. Adding edge computing to pre-assemble data greatly reduces those costs.

Manufacturers use edge computing solutions to protect remote equipment. Sensors are used to monitor temperatures and vibrations. The monetary value of this data is important, as small variations may indicate a problem. To ensure that problems are detected as quickly as possible, the application requires high-resolution data (for example, 1000 per second). Rather than sending all this data online for analysis, edge compute is used to filter data, and only medium, confusing, and threshold violations are sent to the cloud.

Benefit No. 4: Compliance with government regulations

Countries are increasingly introducing privacy laws and data retention. The European Union\'s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a good example. Any organization with EU citizen data is required to meet the requirements of the GDPR, which includes the obligation to report leaks of personal data. Edge computing can help these organizations comply with the GDPR. For example, instead of storing and retrieving video surveillance, the smart city can scan the edges and restore only metadata.

Canadian Water Act: National Hydrometric System is another computer case that brings the benefits of compliance. As part of the program, approximately 3,000 rating channels have been launched across the country. Any missing data needs to be corrected. However, keeping the data at the edge ensures data retention.

Bonus Benefit: “Because I Want…”

Lastly, some users just prefer full control. By using a computer on the edge instead of a cloud, users have greater flexibility. We have seen this in production. Experts want to take full control of the equipment. Edge computing gives them this control and independence in IT. Experts know the machine better and safety and availability remain in mind.

Summary
By reducing delays and costs, improving durability and availability, and maintaining local data, edge computing opens up a whole new world of IoT usage cases. The ones described here are just the beginning. It will be interesting to see when we see edge computing emerge next. If you know of any additional benefits or interesting terms of use, feel free to share in the comments section below!