The research is supervised by researcher Luiz Fernando Bittencourt
Researchers in the fields of IoT and computer networks are focused on addressing a critical challenge of contemporary life: maintaining fast, uninterrupted connectivity for users who are constantly on the move.
This effort centres on Edge Computing, in which processing is distributed across multiple locations.
The core of the research by ICoNIoT researcher Marcelo Araújo, carried out as part of a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Professor Luiz Fernando Bittencourt (UNICAMP), aims to ensure that the dataset that would normally be processed in the cloud accompanies the user during their daily journeys to work, leisure activities, etc. The primary objective is to improve latency and the overall user experience, ensuring that response times remain as low and fast as possible.
The challenge of edge environments
Despite the need for proximity, there is a major issue requiring research: environments located at the network edge – which may be mini data centres or even routers – are less robust and have less computing power. The research therefore aims to find the best possible way to carry out this data handoff between these environments.
The proposed solution involves creating an algorithm that can be adapted for this specific purpose, capable of identifying when the user is on the move.
Deep learning in decision-making
Araújo’s postdoctoral project combines concepts from Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the work he had already been developing. The focus is on deep learning to enable the computer system to make the best decisions autonomously.
The system evaluates a range of data and metrics to decide how to manage mobility, including:
• Predicting the user’s mobility;
• Checking latency;
• The user’s distance;
• Assessing the infrastructure near the user, particularly if it is congested.
The use of techniques such as DRL (Deep Reinforcement Learning) increases the flexibility of the metrics that the computer system will evaluate during the decision-making process.
Simulations to Overcome Limitations
One of the major obstacles in this type of project is the high cost involved in carrying out hyper-realistic simulations. Researchers get round this limitation in the early stages by using simulators that incorporate accurate features of the real environment. Furthermore, it is possible to model the behaviour and actions that a user would carry out in their daily life. In the case of Araújo’s project, a synthetic map of the city of Athens was created. This map serves to execute the system’s logic and run a simulation that approximates a real environment.