DALLAS, July 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* is
reinventing the cloud to boost the potential of self-driving cars,
augmented and virtual reality, robotic manufacturing, and more.
We're embracing a model called edge computing (EC) to move the
data crunching from the device to the cloud. Driving it will be
single-digit millisecond latency that only tomorrow's 5G can
deliver. And powering it all will be our software-defined network,
the most advanced of its kind in the networking industry.
Here's the challenge: Next-gen applications like autonomous cars
and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) will demand massive
amounts of near-real time computation.
For example, according to some third-party estimates,
self-driving cars will generate as much as 3.6 terabytes of data
per hour from the clusters of cameras and other sensors. Some
functions like braking, turning and acceleration will likely always
be managed by the computer systems in the cars themselves.
But what if we could offload some of the secondary systems to
the cloud? These include things like updating and accessing
detailed maps these cars will use to navigate.
Or consider AR/VR. The industry is moving to a model where those
applications will come through your smartphone. But creating
entirely virtual worlds or overlaying digital images and graphics
on top of the real world in a convincing way also requires a lot of
processing power. Even when phones can deliver that horsepower, the
tradeoff is extremely short battery life.
Edge computing addresses those obstacles by moving the
computation into the cloud in a way that feels seamless. It's like
having a wireless supercomputer follow you wherever you go.
"Edge computing fulfills the promise of the cloud to transcend
the physical constraints of our mobile devices," said Andre Fuetsch, president of AT&T Labs and
chief technology officer. "The capabilities of tomorrow's 5G are
the missing link that will make edge computing possible. And few
companies have the sheer number of physical locations that AT&T
has that are needed to solve the latency dilemma."
The faster speeds and lower latency expected with 5G will be key
elements to enabling edge computing. But latency is also determined
by the physical distance between a mobile device and its network
resources.
Say you want to run a VR experience in the cloud. And the data
center powering that experience is hundreds of miles away from you
and your VR glasses. Every time you turn your head, there's a good
chance there will be a noticeable delay between when you turn and
the image follows. That lag is unavoidable because of the time it
takes the data to cross large physical distances.
So we're shrinking the distance. Instead of sending commands
hundreds of miles to a handful of data centers scattered around the
country, we'll send them to the tens of thousands of central
offices, macro towers, and small cells usually never farther than a
few miles from our customers.
If the data centers are the "core" of the cloud, these towers,
central offices, and small cells are at the "edge" of the cloud.
Intelligence is no longer confined to the core. The cloud
comes to you.
We'll outfit those facilities with high-end graphics processing
chips and other general purpose computers. We'll coordinate and
manage those systems with our virtualized and software-defined
network.
We could someday embed these systems in everyday items like
traffic lights and other infrastructure. That could enable
self-driving cars to talk to their surroundings or alert fire and
medical services almost instantly when there's a problem. You could
get amazing VR and AR images delivered instantly to the super-slim
device in your pocket. Doctors could view and share and adjust
complex medical images without investing in expensive imaging
systems.
Edge computing could also spark the next generation of robotic
manufacturing. The 5G service on the horizon could play a vital
role in what's called "Industry 4.0 – Digital Manufacturing". The
anticipated low-latency wireless connections could eliminate the
traditional wired connections to robotic assemblers. Updates come
quicker. Products can get to market faster.
We're already deploying EC-capable services to our enterprise
customers today through our AT&T FlexWareSM service.
Customers can currently manage powerful network services through a
standard tablet device. We expect to see more applications for EC
in areas like public safety that will be enabled by the FirstNet
wireless broadband network.
We're committed to deploying mobile 5G as soon as possible and
we're committed to edge computing. As we roll EC out over the next
few years, dense urban areas will be our first targets, and we'll
expand from those over time.
Our network virtualization initiative will go hand in hand with
our mobile edge computing program. Our goal is to virtualize 75% of
our network functions by 2020. We aim to cross the halfway mark
this year, reaching 55%. As we've said before, we think 5G and
software defined networking will be deeply intertwined
technologies. We don't think you can claim to be preparing for 5G
and EC if you're not investing in SDN.
We're all in. Now.
Our AT&T Labs and AT&T Foundry innovation centers are at
the heart of designing and testing edge computing. In February, the
AT&T Foundry in Palo Alto,
California, released a white paper on the computing and
networking challenges around AR/VR. We'll put out a second white
paper in the coming weeks. It will discuss how we can apply edge
computing to enable mobile augmented and virtual reality technology
in the ecosystem.
There's no time to lose. We think edge computing will drive a
wave of innovation unlike anything seen since the dawn of the
internet itself. Stay tuned.
*About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions
around the globe connect with leading entertainment, business,
mobile and high speed internet services. We offer the nation's best
data network** and the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless
provider. We're one of the world's largest providers of pay TV. We
have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries.
Nearly 3.5 million companies, from small to large businesses around
the globe, turn to AT&T for our highly secure smart
solutions.
AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T
brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about
AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com.
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**Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network
Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the
Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen
Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q3+Q4 2016
across 121 markets.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.