An interesting shift is occurring within the Internet of Things: instead of everything being sent to the cloud, the power to compute data is now done at the local level of the device instead. This is extremely valuable because it allows the device to make fast, mission-critical decisions at the local level instantly. While the cloud is better used to store past data and analyze it while it is at rest, to decipher patterns and predict trends.

Here are a few examples of Fast Data at the edge:

An advertising billboard that lets a passer by engage with it through their phone: be it playing a game or getting more information about a product. The billboard needs to be equipped with intelligence that will let it respond in real time to the actions dictated by the viewer’s phone. This is where fast data is critical. It stores the requisite amount of information on a gateway at the local level of the billboard so that it can react as needed, and then sends the data collected to the cloud after the action is complete.

A door to a building that lets you use your phone as a virtual key to enter. The door needs to be equipped with the intelligence to recognize the phone has the requisite security access for the building, and to unlock the door when told. In order to do this quickly the logic needs to sit locally at the level of the door, so that the phones can be recognized instantly and access logs created in real-time. Then, it can gather and send information to the cloud where the access levels and other instructions sit.

Cool huh? Not only does edge device processing make the solution more responsive but it also makes it more secure and fail-proof in case there is a loss of internet connectivity.

If you’d like to learn more about VizLore’s two solutions mentioned above please visit:

Smart billboard logic: https://www.vizlore.com/wi-blue-gateway/

Virtual key: https://www.vizlore.com/Products/#smartaccess