Artificial Intelligence at the Edge: Fast Times Ahead for 5G and the Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices — in conjunction with 5G network technology — are now everywhere. But just wait until next-generation applications like artificial intelligence (AI) start running on these edge devices. Meanwhile, the low latency and higher data rates of 5G and the Internet of Things will add a new real-time dimension to artificial intelligence.

Consider an augmented reality (XR) headset that not only provides a 3D view of the inside of an aircraft engine, but also has built-in intelligence to guide you to problem areas or information about anomalies in that engine, which can be instantly and automatically identified. and is adjusted.

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Chipmakers are already developing powerful yet energy-efficient processors—or “systems on a chip”—that can deliver AI processing in a small-footprint device. For example, Qualcomm recently introduced AI-enabled Snapdragon chips that run on smartphones and PCs. Also on the horizon is a generation of NeuRRAM chips developed at UC San Diego that can run significant AI algorithms on smaller devices.

Overall, the global number of IoT-connected devices is expected to exceed 29 billion by 2027, up from more than 16.7 billion currently, zScaler’s recent analysis shows. “Smart consumer devices are the most common, but business process-based IoT generated the most transactions,” the report’s authors note. “Manufacturing and retail devices accounted for more than 50% of transactions, underscoring their widespread adoption and critical performance in these sectors. “Enterprise devices, home automation and entertainment devices generate the largest number of plain text transactions.”

Now, 5G and IoT technologies are opening new doors to innovation in artificial intelligence – and vice versa. Arun Santhanam, vice president and head of communications at Capgemini Americas, says artificial intelligence “is most effective when enabled by a local decision-making framework with real-time data.” “5G’s low-latency innovation will be key to enabling real-time data outcomes from relatively inexpensive IoT solutions.”

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Haifa Al-Ashkar, Director of Communications Market Strategy and Solutions at CSG, says that the biggest use cases of edge and artificial intelligence in the enterprise and IoT space have been in industries such as healthcare and manufacturing. These companies, he says, “need to provide faster data transfer and real-time communication.” The lower latency and faster processing capabilities of 5G, along with edge architectures, are critical for applications that require fast decision making and responsiveness.

For example, in healthcare, “there are now artificial intelligence-enabled medical devices such as laparoscopes that allow surgeons to use real-time insights and make faster decisions about life-saving measures such as identifying abnormalities that might otherwise have been overlooked. can be or be identified, adopt. Al-Ashkar says bleeding in real time. “Without 5G, these industries will not be able to take advantage of the edge networks and provide the services needed to meet the needs of powerful IoT mission-critical applications such as the following.”

Al-Ashkar continues that the expansion of applications and services equipped with artificial intelligence will also strengthen the power of 5G edge applications. “When you combine the low latency of 5G networks and AI capabilities at the edge, companies can have access to real-time decision making,” he says. With less time required to transfer data between devices and data centers, AI algorithms running on edge devices now provide real-time insights and actions that can improve responsiveness and the amount of valuable data available. increase the company.”

Milind Kulkarni, vice president and head of InterDigital’s Wireless Lab, says AI will also improve connectivity because it “can have a dramatic impact on the reliability and efficiency of wireless networks and enable new ways to communicate.” For example, the combination of 5G, cloud and edge computing is critical to enabling immersive experiences on new devices in more places and the development of connected ecosystems such as the Metaverse. Innovations in 5G and computing capabilities help make these experiences possible. “

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While more centralized environments — the cloud and data centers — may provide the computing power for immersive experiences, “they may be far away from where the low-latency resources are,” Kulkarni says. Therefore, to take advantage of the ultra-low latency that is one of the key benefits of 5G, edge computing plays a critical role by providing smaller amounts of storage space and computing much closer to the required device. In addition, edge computing can be customized to support specific use cases, such as storing content for video-on-demand delivery or running artificial intelligence algorithms to make quick decisions on incoming data.

XR is the area where 5G capabilities have reached the limit. “There’s a lot of work going on in 3GPP right now that’s focused on enhancing existing networks to better support XR traffic,” Kulkarni says. “XR pushes the limits of 5G in terms of latency with ultra-high data rates, efficient video coding and network architecture, for example by taking advantage of edge computing.”

“The high speeds and low latency of 5G are essential to move industries to the next stage of digital transformation,” says El Ashkar. “This is especially important for industries such as supply chain, healthcare and manufacturing, where increasingly AI-connected devices are becoming critical to daily operations.”