Bringing the Cloud to the Edge in FiWi Enhanced Networks

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To cope with the unprecedented growth of mobile data traffic, we recently have demonstrated the significant latency and reliability performance gains obtained from unifying coverage-centric 4G mobile networks and capacity-centric fiber-wireless (FiWi) broadband access networks based on low-cost data-centric Ethernet technologies, paying particular attention to the performance-limiting impact of backhaul latency and reliability. FiWi enhanced 4G mobile networks may be viewed as an important step towards meeting the requirements of very low latency and ultra-high reliability while taking economic considerations into account and following the integrative vision of future 5G mobile networks. In our previous work, we also paid attention to the development of a decentralized routing algorithm for FiWi enhanced mobile networks by exploiting intelligence at the device rather than infrastructure side given that decentralization is another important aspect of the 5G vision. So-called edge services are expected to become increasingly important as the Internet transforms into the Internet of Things. There is a growing awareness among industry players of reaping the benefits of mobile-cloud convergence by extending today's unmodified cloud to a decentralized two-level cloud-cloudlet architecture based on emerging mobile-edge computing capabilities, thus enabling new applications that are both compute intensive and latency sensitive, e.g., cognitive assistance, augmented reality, or tactile Internet applications such as face recognition and navigation for emerging cloud robotics. Recently, a similar trend toward decentralization can be observed for the changing role of the mobile base station and the compelling opportunity for it to become a hub of service creation in order to monetize from the provision of an enriched mobile broadband experience that is characterized by low-latency, contextualized, and highly personalized unforeseen applications and services that help stimulate innovation, generate revenue, and improve the quality of our every-day lives. This research proposal explores the challenges and opportunities arising from the integration of cloudlets and FiWi enhanced networks with advanced mobile-edge computing capabilities. It investigates their instrumental role in ushering in the future Tactile Internet with a particular focus on groundbreaking cloud-enabled networked robotic services and applications. In a long-term vision, the proposed research activities aim at exploiting FiWi enabled human-to-robot communications to help merge and recombine the mobile Internet, automation of knowledge work, Internet of Things, cloud technology, and advanced robotics, which represent the five technologies with the highest estimated potential economic impact in 2025, in order to multiply their beneficial impact on society.