Edge computing moves part of the application next to the sensors. A camera that detects a safety violation locally and sends only the alert, or a gateway that aggregates a thousand readings into one summary, cuts bandwidth, shortens response time and keeps working when the uplink drops. It also helps with privacy, since raw video or audio never leaves the site.
The price is operational: software now runs on heterogeneous hardware in many locations, each needing updates, monitoring and security. Deciding what stays at the edge and what goes to the cloud is a recurring design question; Edge computing explained and the comparison with fog computing go through the criteria.
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