I&E report

Fog computing for EDISON

smart device

Miguel Fernando Angulo,

reqlown@gmail.com

The EIT Digital – European entrepreneurs driving digital innovation &

Education

EIT Digital

www.eitdigital.eu
Contenido
1. Introduction................................................................................................2
1. Impact of the technology.............................................................................3
1. Digital Assistants....................................................................................3
1. Smart Mirror.......................................................................................3
2. Fog Computing.......................................................................................4
3. IoT...........................................................................................................5
2. Business research........................................................................................6
3. Market entry & growth................................................................................8
IOT..................................................................................................................8
FOG Computing..............................................................................................8
Conclusions.......................................................................................................10
References..........................................................................................................11

1
1. Introduction

Edison is an Italian electric utility company which generates, transport and

provides electricity and natural gas. Also, offers energy and environmental
services to final users.

In this report, we will talk about a technology that is close related to cloud
computing, because in different aspects it complements some disadvantages
of cloud computing. The technology is “Fog Computing”.

Then we will talk about how using this technology we can provide a possible
option for the development of EDISON’s new technology that they want to
implement “The smart mirror”, that would be an IoT (Internet of thing)
device, similar to other digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri,
but having extra features, functionalities and a particular design as the name
said “mirror”.

The smart mirror is not another smart device that work alone for a specific
purpose, the objective is to help people to manage the smart appliances and
resources of their homes, and bringing to them some useful information
based of the data gathered from the environment.

Because of the need of data gathering and treatment at the same time, it
needs a technology that has low latency times, location awareness (it wants to
work with all home’s devices), easy management and support for multiple
connections. We are going to use fog computing apply to IoT, in this way, we
can handle all these obstacles and suggest a smart solution.

2
 1. Impact of the technology

As we mention in the introduction, we are going to consider different

technologies to work on the smart mirror: Fog Computing, IoT and digital
assistances. We will talk about the “Smart mirror” device, what possible
impacts that would have

1. Digital Assistants

Digital assistants include devices like smartphones, smartwatch, tablets,

computers and smart speakers, which use software systems (the most known
are Alexa from amazon, Siri from Apple, Google’s Assistant, Cortana from
Microsoft and Samsung’s Bixby) to help in a range of tasks for users.

Between these tasks, the most commons could be, provide a new interface for
consumers to make purchases via voice activated commands, activate other
devices remotely, create reminders or get specific data in real time.

Such functionalities, which relies largely on artificial intelligence (AI),

neuronal networks, algorithms and consumer data, has the potential to raise
new benefits and risks for consumers.

Even if Digital assistants can provide us with many benefits, there is still a
concern, the need to collect massive amounts of consumer data in order to
constantly improve and customize their service. While this may benefit
consumers by providing a better service and recommendations that match
their needs and preferences, it may also create an ethical problem and
challenges as well as potential privacy and security risks for consumers.

1. Smart Mirror

According to the information provide by EDISON, “The smart mirror has the
aspect of a mirror but also include a screen behind it, a camera and a smart
speaker. Therefore, it could replace a common mirror present in every home
as a well-designed piece of furniture (then it’s not an additional device)
adding seamlessly some smart capabilities, including: displaying information
related to the home or to the family, managing services related to the home
3
duties, helping in the management of the home (ex. home automation app),
providing tips about energy optimization, quality of air, waste management
and health, collect information about the user actual physical and mental
state using the embedded camera and AI algorithms and/or connecting it to
external IoT devices. The customization is a key element regarding the
external aspect as well as the kind of content displayed to each user."

Here in order to find options of technology to develop that device, is required

to fulfil certain needs, because it not only will help to manage the other smart
devices like a digital assistant, also it will provide useful insights based on the
gathered information from the environment, people and resource
consumption like gas and electricity.

It will collect different data, also because EDISON provides energy service
(Gas/electricity), would offer suggestion based on this to save energy or
optimize the consumption. In order to do that would have to gather the
information of all the technological devices in home.

There is a problem related to Digital assistants and data collect, the privacy of
data. A lot of people don’t even know that they are producing data for smart
devices, but the “Smart mirror” wants to collects information of the person
using cameras, that would be directly invading privacy or person, because the
collection data is constant.

Assuming all the other needs would be satisfied, the privacy one would be the
most critical, because in which point would be the limit, so the digital
assistants would manage just your home and not yourself.

2. Fog Computing

Fog Computing is a highly virtualized platform that provides compute,

storage, and networking services between end devices and traditional Cloud
Computing Data Centers. This has a direct impact on the IoT performance
and cloud-based services.

Cloud computing frees the enterprise and the end user from the specification
of many details (Like the infrastructure, the services and platform to provide
it), this model is an efficient alternative to owning and managing private data
centers (DCs) without having to care about the physical infrastructure, but to
care about the service itself.

4
When we relate it to the emerging wave of Internet deployments, most
notably the Internet of Things (IoTs), there are requires of mobility support
and geo-distribution in addition to location awareness and low latency.

Fog Computing extends the Cloud Computing paradigm to the edge of the
network, thus enabling a new breed of applications and services. Helping
Cloud Computing and working together to fulfil obstacles like:

a) Low latency and location awareness

b) Wide-spread geographical distribution
c) Mobility
d) Very large number of nodes
e) Predominant role of wireless access
f) Strong presence of streaming and real time applications
g) Heterogeneity

3. IoT

The IoT promises to minimize waste, expenses, and hassles. It aids in

enhancing efficiency and allowing us to live a more productive, ecologically
friendly, and enjoyable life.

The growth of systems and applications for and IoT devices will raise
consumer confidence, allowing them to accept big data and other relevant
futuristic technology. The problem is that this means that people will
generate a big amount of IoT data to assist industry leaders in forecasting
customer behavior, applications development, customer profiles; a lot of this
information would be gathered without people even notice or realize what
they are generating.

Is true that IoT is here to help but at the same time there are some
disadvantages that increase as IoT evolves.

With the advancement of IoT devices, security has become a major worry. IoT
security involves device safety, because if you can access to you smart home
to control and manage your devices, that means that others can, not in a legal
way of course, that’s why the more links between devices exist, the more risk
for security breaches are.

5
 2. Business research

Here I tried to do the research in order to search for examples with state-of-
the-art technologies and problems that show the use of fog computing in IoT,
and how it improves the functionality and performance.

As first example here is fog computing apply to a smart grid. A smart grid can
connect millions of transmission lines to deliver electricity to an entire
country. The general components would be the electric power generators,
distribution and transmission lines, smart meters, control centers, the nodes
(homes or any place where the electricity is delivered).

Fog nodes at the edge of the network ingest the data generated by sensors in
the grid and devices. Some of this data relates to protection and control loops
that require real-time processing.

This first part of the Fog, works machine-to-machine (M2M), collects,

process the data. In addition, it filters the data to be consumed locally, and
sends the rest to be used for other purpose.

The part deal with visualization and reporting working in a human-to-

machine (HMI), as well as systems and processes (M2M). The time scales of
these interactions, all part of the Fog, range from seconds to minutes (real-
time analytics).

After all the process the Fog must support several types of storage, from
ephemeral at the lowest tier to semi-permanent where the ultimate, global
coverage is provided by the Cloud, which is used as repository, where is the
base for business intelligence analytics.

 Here we can see in a macro environment, where we have different

devices that produce different types of data how Fog computing can
help to not just gather the information, also, process the information in
real time in order to get useful insights , like reports or analytics to
manage and control the process in case any unexpected event.

Another example is an article about “Melding Fog Computing and IoT for
Deploying Secure, Response-Capable Healthcare Services in 5G and Beyond”
where they want to present the architectural elements of 5G which enable
efficient, remote healthcare services along with emergency health monitoring
and response capability using Fog computing, for mitigating common issues
and current limitations which may compromise the proclaimed service
delivery.
6
 Melding Fog Computing and IoT for Deploying Secure, Response-Capable Healthcare Services in 5G and Beyond, Fig.1

We can see here in the graphic that Fog nodes work directly with the end
devices, using the 5G network. Is because of these that the delays are
minimized when the users (patients) that use healthcare services, can get
information really fast allowing them to self-monitoring, involving end-users
willing to monitor their own medical condition, for instance when
recuperating from an incident or simply as part of a preventive health
monitoring routine with inherent support for early identification of
potentially alarming metrics.

This takes away the needs to go to specific points inside home or hospital to
do medical check to supervise the actual health condition.

Also, there is an important feature that fog can bring here, that is the off-line
monitoring.

Doctors can off-line monitoring, using fog-enabled medical grade wearables

to monitor their patients. Of course, the person has to wear the device
Sensors at home and then, after a predefined period, return the device to
their physician, allowing the physician to acquire the traces and conduct the
diagnosis.

 We can see here that if we have a wireless network around us, fog
computing can help us to get data and monitor different things based
on the results. And also, it can work offline as long the fog nodes collect
data from the sensors through the network.

7
 3. Market entry & growth

IOT

The possibility to develop the “Smart mirror” is positive, also this will be an
IoT device. EDISON wants to target homes where people already have other
smart devices, in order that the Smart Mirror can help to manage the others.

The market where it should focus is the IoT Housing market.

A study did it by “Industry Research” (A company that incorporate a

comprehensive research statistic of all aspects of the market through business
intelligence), said that “IoT in Housing Market has witnessed a growth from
USD million from 2017 to 2022 with the highest CAGR (compound annual
growth rate) estimated to reach USD in 2029.”

The increase of IoT devices has lent itself to greater connectivity within the
home, now you can control stuff more than a speaker or the light, you can
manage your kitchen, freezer, laundry machine, etc. And in recent years,
smart devices have become more affordable, accelerating its adoption.

Refinements in safety, interconnectivity, and customization as well as cheap

prices are likely to continue to drive the market to new heights. Thank to this,
there are a lot of brands that present different IoT devices and solutions that
can work with each other. Increasing the inter-operability of devices reduce
the fear to buy it.

FOG Computing

As the internet, Cloud, electricity, water or other service, people are not aware
most of the time how it works, but the important thing is that it works and
there is not any risk when they used it.

Fog computing works with the already networks that exist in the homes, and
as technology provide advantages over the existing devices. In the EDISON
project, the node in this case would be the smart mirror itself. Finding a
barrier would be difficult, because it already would work with smart devices
that people have, and they have a need for something to help them manage
all. Due to the increasing market of IoT housing, the entry of this technology
along with IoT devices would be good.
8
The market is already there this means that there are not need to make a
strategy for growth in a new market.

A barrier that can be a problem is, since the Smart mirror wants to collect
information, not only statistic, also using cameras to collect information of
the person and environment. Lately there is an increasing concern about the
data privacy, and consent of the collect of data.

Microsoft made an online survey among the users who use Cortana, the
digital assistant, 52 percent of those surveyed by Microsoft said they worried
their personal information or data was not secure, and 24 percent said they
don’t know how it’s being used. Thirty-six percent said they didn’t even want
their personal information or data to be used at all.

We see that here people is concerned about their personal data, that’s why
“Smart Mirror” is a great idea, but has to have some changes to adapt to the
existing market. Where most of the IoT devices can work with no sensible
data, and just work with general data and statistics that don’t affect the
privacy of the users, also give them the option if they want to use sensible
data to improve the digital assistant, with more data to customize the service
and bring better results.

9
Conclusions
In summary, we see that there are already markets and technologies been
used for a period of time, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be improve, or
can’t be change to provide a better service and increase the acceptance of the
technology.

IoT has been working for a long time, lately we see that it can use the new
technologies like fog computing in order to maximize the services and
solutions that provides.

Even if a technology like Cloud Computing that is new and solve a lot of
problems, it has disadvantages and is not necessary to replace the technology
for other. We can just add another technology to fulfil the disadvantages and
change it to advantages.

This way the entry to a new market would not be necessary, by contrast, we
already know the challenges of the actual market and using new technologies
we can overcome them.

1
0
References

1. Bonomi, Flavio. Fog Computing and Its Role in the Internet of

Things, 17 August 2012

2. I. Fatima, S. Javaid, N. Javaid, I. Shafi, Z. Nadeem, and R.

Ullah. Region Oriented Integrated Fog and Cloud Based Environment
for Efficient Resource Distribution in Smart Buildings, in Complex,
Intelligent, and Software Intensive Systems, 2019.

3. S. S. Gill, P. Garraghan, and R. Buyya. ROUTER: Fog enabled

cloud based intelligent resource management approach for smart home
IoT devices, 01 August 2019.

4. Bonomi, Flavio. Connected vehicles, the internet of things, and fog

computing. 2011,

5. A. Alrawais, A. Alhothaily, C. Hu, and X. Cheng. Fog Computing

for the Internet of Things: Security and Privacy Issues, 2017.

6. I. Stojmenovic and S. Wen. The Fog computing paradigm:

Scenarios and security issues, 2014.

1
1
1
2