With edge computing you have a super-fast mini-computer right next to you, helping your gadgets work better. Instead of sending all your game data or video chatters far away over the internet to a big cloud computer, edge computing does it nearby. This means stuff like playing online games or opening web pages happens almost immediately, without any lag or waiting at all.
So if you are playing a virtual reality game, for the game to look real your movements should come into the game as soon as possible. If that game’s data has to go far to a cloud server and then come back, you will notice a slight delay–which can make all the difference. With edge computing, however, all the data is processed right there next to where you are playing. So everything in the game moves as fast as you can make it, and you feel more real.
Thus, self-driving cars use edge computing to make safe decisions faster. These cars need to see everything around them and decide what to do in milliseconds. If the car had to wait for data to journey all the way and back from some distant server, it could be too late. But with edge computing, all of this is done inside the car itself–allowing instant decision-making.
Edge computing lets farmers grow better crops. They place sensors in their fields that monitor soil moisture, temperature, and plant health. Instead of sending this information far away for analysis, it is processed on the farm. This means that farmers can rapidly adjust how much water this part of the field is receiving so that plants are healthy and there is water saved at the same time effort.
Wearables are now starting to use edge computing in hospitals for better patient monitoring. That device strapped to your wrist can report your heart rate, temperature, and other vital signs in real-time. By processing this data on the spot, doctors can be alerted immediately if there is a problem; even if they are not in the same room. This could save a patient’s life: in emergency cases, every single second matters.
Edge computing is making our world faster and smarter by processing data close to where it’s needed. From making games and movies run smoothly to helping cars drive themselves and farmers grow food more efficiently, edge computing is behind the scenes speeding things up. As more devices connect to the Internet in the future, edge computing will become even more important–helping everything work together seamlessly and quickly.
