Explainer

Edge computing moves some processing closer to where data is created. A device can handle a local task before sending information to a distant server, which can reduce delay and network traffic. The useful question is which work belongs nearby and which work still benefits from the cloud.

The key ideas

  • Process some data near its source.
  • Local processing can reduce latency and traffic.
  • Edge and cloud can work together.

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Original recording: TikTok, 2020-08-14.

Video transcript

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Automatically transcribed from the original recording. Small transcription errors may remain.

Why is edge computing the future? In the past, the purpose of cloud computing was to automate and speed interactions by driving raw data to a data center, processing and analyzing it, and then distributing it. But the unprecedented scale and complexity of data created by connected devices today have outpaced network and infrastructure capabilities. And obviously, data will continue to grow as 5G networks increase the number of connected mobile devices. This is where edge computing comes in. In its simplest terms, it processes and analyzes raw data closer to the point where it's created.

So an example would be your virtual assistant processing sound waves and determining what you said on the device itself and then getting the answer from the data center. This ultimately reduces the processing load on the data center, thus reducing the time it takes for you to find out if you need to add sugar to that recipe you're working on.