With the constant growth of connected devices, as well as persistent phone and tablet use, traditional centralized networks may soon be overwhelmed with traffic. Gartner predicts that 25 billion connected devices will generate unprecedented amounts of raw data by 2021. This problem will demand next-level responsiveness and reliability— and it’s just two years away.
Edge computing promises to address the impending data surge with a distributed IT architecture that moves data center resources toward the network periphery.
Meeting Needs
Edge computing topology can reduce latency for time-sensitive applications, support IoT performance in low bandwidth environments, and ease overall network congestion.
Latency: By virtue of physical proximity, time-to-action drops when data analysis occurs locally rather than at a remote data center or cloud. Because data processing and storage will occur at or near edge devices, IoT and mobile endpoints can react to critical information in near real-time.
Congestion: Edge computing can also ease the growing pressure on the wide-area network. This can improve efficiency and keep bandwidth requirements in check This is a significant challenge in the age of mobile computing and IoT. Instead of overwhelming the network with a constant flood of relatively insignificant raw data, edge devices can analyze, filter, and compress data locally.
Bandwidth: Edge computing topology can support IoT devices in environments with unreliable network connectivity. Such environments include cruise ships, offshore oil platforms, rural agricultural plants, remote military outposts, and ecological research sites. Even with a hit-or-miss connection to the cloud, local compute and storage resources can enable continuous operation.
Edge Challenges
The more intelligent an edge device, the more intensive its configuration, deployment, and maintenance requirements. Organizations will need to decide on a case-by-case basis if distributed computing benefits (like cheaper WAN connectivity) justify the increased overhead at the network’s periphery. Gartner Research Director Santhosh Rao cautions that the costs associated with deploying and operating edge computing technology can pile up quickly. Although edge computing comes with many benefits, IT leaders will have to make sure a they outweigh its costs.
Security is also a major concern associated with edge computing. Some IT professionals worry that a decentralized computing architecture will make a network more vulnerable to attack by creating excess backdoor entry points. However, other people argue that placing an edge-computing gateway between network endpoints and the internet can actually improve security. Because more data will be processed and stored locally, travel to and from the cloud will be reduced.
Despite uncertainties, analysts expect organizations will increasingly rely on edge computing technology in the years to come. According to Rao, just 10% of enterprise data was created and processed outside of a centralized data center/cloud in 2018. He predicts that number will climb to 75% by 2025.
Introduction to Edge
Prepare your organization for the future by training your entire team to support edge technology now. IEEE Introduction to Edge Computing is a new five-course program designed for organizations investing heavily in edge. Courses include:
Overview of Edge Computing
Practical Applications of Edge Computing
Research Challenges in Edge Computing
Designing Security Solutions for Edge, Cloud, and IoT
Tools and Software for Edge Computing Applications
In the healthcare arena, the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). It’s doing lots of good in the world by improving care and delivering it to more people. Any place becomes a point of care, not just within the four walls of a healthcare facility. This means care is accessible whenever it is needed. But, of course, there are potential risks associated with connected devices in healthcare as well.
The Pros
Wearable technology access allows for real-time data on daily health. This ranges from how active you are to how fast your heart is beating. Technology allows us to have a better understanding of our overall health. It looks pretty good in terms of these four aspects:
Cost savings: People with chronic illnesses like lung disease or cancer often incur high costs associated with continuous medical care. The costs come from rehospitalization, transport, time spent our of work and general support for their disease, as well as suffering a physical toll on the body. Connected technology has the potential to reduce costs and save time for these individuals. IoMT brings care to the patient. They can remotely check-in with doctors, ask questions and perform simple tests on a connected device that shares the data real-time.
Transparency: Connected electronic health records (EHR) can save patients from having to regurgitate information at every new doctor’s office, simplifying visits. Those that have multiple physicians would be able to easily share their health records. Connected devices have the ability to communicate with multiple EHRs stored in the cloud that patients can share. Patients gain better insight into their health information, getting immediate access to doctors notes after a visit. This will increase consumers’ expectations when it comes to the quality of care they receive as the healthcare system become more transparent.
Caregiving: IoMT can be beneficial to anyone that is a caregiver to their parents and growing children.It enables those who don’t live nearby or simply can’t make it to every appointment to still oversee the process. IoMT keeps all parties in the loop.
Compliance: IoMT innovation can also improve compliance. A carer or family member would be able to see when their loved takes a medication, misses a dose, or needs a refill with connected caps on pill bottles. The connected cap would also have the ability to send alerts that notify them, improving the care of the patient.
The Cons
There’s always something for developers to question when exploring new technology. An IoT for All article takes a look at the challenges associated with just ingestibles. Here are just three:
Security: Doctors at University of Minnesota Health and Fairview Health announced they’re treating a small group of cancer patients with digital medicine. It is a new chemotherapy pill that includes a sensor to let patients and doctors monitor dosage to make sure they’re taking their medicine when they’re supposed to. Sounds great, but one of the biggest concerns about IoT is security. Ingesting connected devices, if not properly secured, could have people unknowingly broadcasting their health status everywhere they go.
Privacy: Any connected healthcare devices would be subject to HIPAA standard, naturally, but when it comes to ingestibles there are lots of questions about who owns the device. Is it the manufacturer, doctor, healthcare system, insurance company, or the person whose body it’s in? Could the owner retrieve the device at will, forcing the patient to undergo an unwanted medical procedure? And if the individual owns the data (according to regulations like HIPAA and the GDPR), how would consent work? Can data be erased or deleted from the device remotely, or will it require a medical procedure? What if the device malfunctions? Can it stay in the patient forever, or will that cause harm, and who’s liable for that?
Unintended Use: Concerns about the unintended use of ingestibles are more about potential abuse of power. It’s possible that police departments could give people convicted of drunk driving the choice of losing their license or ingesting a device that would monitor their blood alcohol level – too high and it could alert police and/or disable the car. In the same vein, businesses could start requiring ingestibles as a condition of employment. It can be with the intention of maintaining a drug-free workplace. Parents could make ingestibles a condition of letting their teen get a driver’s license.
IoT Beyond Healthcare
IEEE’s Guide to the Internet of Things explores healthcare and other industries. In this eight-course program, participants learn about the IoT, its applications, challenges, and future opportunities. This program is designed for professionals working in engineering, IT, computer science, and related fields across all industries. Connect with an IEEE Content Specialist and receive a custom quote for your organization today.
The Internet of Things (IoT), the ability for devices in our everyday environment to connect and share information, offers amazing potential for positive impact in government, education, finance and transportation, as well as nearly endless consumer applications.
Companies are working to deploy billions of connected devices – from personal health and fitness trackers, to remote home monitoring and management systems, to community data sharing portals – that not only send alerts to your smartphone, but communicate with each other to maximize practicality and productivity. For example, imagine a fire alarm that doesn’t just beep, but shuts off your gas appliances and wakes you with an alert sent to your household phones.
Extending battery life is a must for continued innovation. With the number of IoT devices projected to grow to more than 20 billion in just the next couple of years, energy conservation is critical. The trick lies in balancing power consumption with the performance of future networked devices exclusively dependent on battery power.
In order for IoT technology to flourish, especially in situations where it’s infeasible or impractical to frequently replace batteries (think pacemakers and other medical devices), a reduced need for frequent recharging or replacement of batteries is essential.
A low-power, low-latency solution will allow devices and sensors to last longer and become infinitely more useful.
Enter: Wake-Up Radio
Wake-Up Radio removes the need to compromise between power savings and latency by reducing the significant energy waste that wireless devices cause during their idle communication mode. The radio consumes minute amounts of power while still being in a constant active or listening state. Wake-Up Radio goes into sleep mode with regular intervals in which it will wake up to sample the channel for activity.
Incorporating the additional tiny radio, which runs over Wi-Fi and uses less power, allows the main battery to last significantly longer, by up to 694 days. According to Adrian Stephens, chair of the Wake-Up Radio standards task group, the technology “is suitable for a new class of battery-powered devices that will drive innovation and exciting new applications in the market.”
Get the Report
Academic researchers have worked on wake-up receivers for close to a decade. Now, with Wake-Up Radio, innovation in IoT devices is limitless.
To learn more about the specifics of how Wake-Up Radio works and some potential uses, check out the IEEE Technology Report on Wake-Up Radio, crafted to help stakeholders better understand the potential of the technology and market. This insightful report is available for purchase at a 50% discount for a limited-time only via IEEE Xplore.
Sharma, Manoj. (October 2017). Wake-Up Radio Systems: A New Perspective. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering & Technology.
There is a veritably deafening buzz around blockchain at the moment as it’s the technology du jour. And rightfully so, as it ticks a lot of boxes: it’s decentralized, anonymous, and immutable. It also promises security through truth and transparency.
Amid the excitement about it, brands are rushing to embrace the ledger technology. Upon announcing that they’re working with, or will soon incorporate, blockchain technologies, their stock price skyrockets.
The Blockchain Bounce Phenomenon
This is called blockchain bounce.
Don’t believe us? Take Overstock, for example, whose share price rose +200% post-announcement of a loyalty plan built on blockchain.
Or restaurants like Chanticleer Holdings (whose brands include American Burger Co. and Little Big Burger) and Hooter’s. Both stocks became hot simply because of their association with blockchain.
It also happened to Kodak recently, when it partnered with WENN Digital to launch a blockchain-powered image rights platform, called KODAKOne. Shares of Eastman Kodak’s stock surged more than 30% on the announcement, closing at $6.80.
As the New York Times noted, these bold gambles have had mixed reactions among investors: some are excited, others confused, with a majority curious about “wading into dubious business deals” in search of instant growth through blockchain bounce.
Are businesses that attach themselves to blockchain merely a fad? Or will utilizing blockchain to provide the building blocks for a company’s future have an Amazon-like effect, as Starbucks Chairman Howard Shultz predicts? Could the blockchain bounce make a difference for your company? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Coming Soon: IEEE Introduction to Blockchain Technology
It’s clear blockchain isn’t going away anytime soon. Which is why it’s in your business’ best interests to learn as much as possible, as soon as possible, about it. To make sense of the recent blockchain revolution, you’ve got to understand what a blockchain really is and what it’s capable of doing. The best place to start is with the new IEEE Introduction to Blockchain Technology 3-course program. Pre-order for your company now and save.
