Used within the IIoT, edge computing offers benefits that range from reducing network latency and plant accidents, to achieving predictive maintenance and maximizing uptime
Maybe the greatest benefit of a new technology is its lack of historical baggage, thereby enabling industry professionals to approach it with an open mind and a clean slate. Edge computing currently enjoys this status in manufacturing. For how long, depends on how well manufacturers understand, embrace and successfully implement it on their assembly lines and throughout their plants.
In simple terms, edge computing decentralizes the data processing load in a plant by using devices on the network “edge” to gather and process data locally and much closer to the source. The origins of the technology go back some 25 years, when Akamai Technologies Inc. introduced its first content delivery network to alleviate Internet bottlenecks. This network featured nodes placed at locations geographically closer to the end user that stored cached static content such as images and videos.