By 2025, 175 zettabytes of data will be generated worldwide. Edge devices (Edge Computing) will create over 90 zettabytes of this data — IDC Data Age 2025 report.

What is Edge Computing?

Edge computing processes and stores data close to the device being used. Instead of overloading the mainstream network with big data, which might not even be required, not only overload the mainstream network, but it also decreases the edge devices’ response time. Therefore, time-sensitive operations, need an edge server to process the data in real-time. Edge computing is becoming popular, and business is shifting toward the edge to minimize network delay and cost.

Edge computing processes and stores data close to the device being used. This may be by the device or local server to minimize the delay and get real-time response.

Potential use of Edge Computing

Edge Computing is the future. Instead of processing data centrally, it initially processes data at the edge and transfers it to the cloud if needed. It minimizes the delay, and cost and provides real-time response.

Autonomous Vehicles Consumes/Produced 5GB Per Second

According to research, 1.3 million individuals die in traffic accidents every year. About 95% of these mishaps are the result of human error. The goal of autonomous vehicles is to eliminate the need for drivers and improve safety and the environment. 5 GB of data are produced per second by autonomous vehicles. The cloud cannot be used to store this data for decision-making. As a result, this data is utilised at the edge to obtain instantaneous responses.

Smart Hospitals Uses Massive Sensor to Monitor the Patients

Similar to autonomous vehicles, smart hospitals need real-time responses. Further, they use massive sensors to monitor the patients. This data must be processed in the hospital instead of uploaded to the cloud for real-time decisions. Therefore, rather than moving their data to the cloud, smart hospitals use edge servers to handle it locally.

Smart Education Uses HD Graphics and Videos for Teaching

Applications and videos are used by teachers for teaching. Instead of placing the workload on the main network, the institution’s edge servers are employed to process the data and receive the response instantly.

Smart Cities is The Combination of Numbers System Which Produce Big Data

A technologically advanced urban setting known as a “smart city” employs various electrical devices and sensors to gather certain data. To monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities, water supply networks, waste, criminal investigations, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services, data is gathered from citizens, devices, buildings, and assets. This data is then processed and analysed. This data needs to be processed in real-time on local servers, therefore, edge servers are used to handle this data locally.

Smart Security Uses Smart Sensors, Actuators and Real-Time Data Processing

Smart security uses cameras and sensors for environmental monitoring. The HD cameras produced quality videos. This data cannot be uploaded to the cloud every. Therefore, the data is stored in local storage and streamed to remote servers in case of an emergency. The edge server reduces network and server costs by continuously streaming data to cloud servers.

Mobile Applications Consume Big Data

Recent mobile applications require immediate responses and consume large amounts of data. Undoubtedly, mobile processors are unable to handle the execution of large amounts of data, and the cloud server slows down the responses. To obtain immediate responses, the edge servers in the region are used.

Online Games Are Based on HD Graphics

Games are heavily data-driven. They made use of visuals and video in high definition. The delay caused by downloading these graphics from the cloud might discourage users. Therefore, in order to analyse their data locally and receive real-time responses, the upcoming games will require an edge server.

Smart Industries Uses Smart Sensors, Actuators and Real-Time Data Processing

Smart sensors and artificial intelligence are used in the fourth industrial revolution to operate enterprises smartly. Big data analysis in real-time is required for this. For instance, when a safety or quality concern is found, the device may need to be used to take action almost immediately. Depending on how reliable the network is, it may take too long to transport data from the manufacturing floor to the enterprise cloud and back.

Oil Rigs Uses Smart Sensors, Actuators and Real-Time Data Processing

Oil rigs send their sensor data to nearby edge servers for processing even though they are thousands of miles distant from land in the open ocean. The local server is necessary since these points are located thousands of kilometres apart and cannot communicate with cloud servers in real time under these circumstances.

Gartner estimates that by 2025, 75% of data will be processed outside of the traditional data centre or cloud. The examples discussed above show that the edge is the need of the future, and the initial data will be processed by the edge server and not directly by the cloud.