Towards a Cloud Fog Edge System for Smart Building

Abstract

In this article, we present our vision and recent advancements toward creating a decentralized system capable of learning from real-time data within buildings to support sustainable and privacy-preserving smart environments. Our approach promotes the concept of the building itself as the data center, aligning with the principles of edge computing to safeguard confidentiality and reduce reliance on external cloud infrastructure. This is particularly valuable in humanitarian contexts, where data sovereignty, energy efficiency, and infrastructure constraints are critical. We detail a lightweight, "Kubernetes-like" orchestration framework for deploying AI services within such environments and demonstrate our progress in implementing AI algorithms on low-power, cost-effective microcontrollers such as those in the Arduino ecosystem. By enabling in-situ learning directly on sensors or microcontrollers, our work aims to bring intelligent services to resource-limited settings, fostering autonomy, resilience, and sustainable development in vulnerable or underserved communities. The contributions in this article are related, firstly, to our project "Online Machine Learning Algorithms for Embedded Systems" and the evaluation of two new online algorithms. Secondly, we envision a cloud-fog-edge architecture based on the KOptim and FIWARE components, and we propose a methodology for coupling them. Experimental results of the online algorithms are also presented, showcasing real-world traces.