Main Post
Since the first smartphone and first tablet appeared, people’s lives have become much more manageable. Mobile devices allow not to depend on such properties of PCs like its large size or wire connection. Similarly, scientists have developed an approach called Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) that allows using the information in a more convenient way (Lo’ai et al., 2016a). The next logical step after the invention of MCC was the introduction of the Mobile Cloudlet concept, which implies the creation of ‘outlets’ for bigger clouds, that are storing the majority of information.
Mobile Cloudlets can significantly increase the speed of access to information. It is because, on the cloudlet, only the most relevant data is stored (Lo’ai et al., 2016b). An example is cloudlets used by university students, while less relevant information is still kept on the central cloud of the enterprise (Lo’ai et al., 2016a). This cloud is, in some way, a massive archive that the system will access if the user needs less relevant data.
A system like Mobile Cloudlets is an ideal base for running mobile applications – from multimedia files sharing to healthcare applications. Such healthcare applications can collect data like ECG, blood pressure, and other real-time biometrical signals online. Developers note that the cloudlets can be accommodated near the hospitals. Therefore they will “cover an area that can be accessed by authorized people who can access the patients’ information and follow their status remotely” (Lo’ai et al., 2016a, p. 6175). Scientists also note that the system is very convenient for further timely and comprehensive data analysis, which will allow doctors to make instant, balanced, and adequate medical decisions.
Notably, data can be received from mobile devices if the patient is at home, as well as directly from a variety of medical equipment when it comes to patients staying in hospitals. Besides its apparent advantages in the speed of information processing, the MCC system also offers protection of confidential data. Moreover, an automated method of processing information minimizes the likelihood of errors associated with the human factor.
References
Lo’ai, A. T., Mehmood, R., Benkhlifa, E., & Song, H. (2016a). Mobile cloud computing model and big data analysis for healthcare applications. IEEE Access, 4, 6171–6180.
Lo’ai, A. T., Bakhader, W., Mehmood, R., & Song, H. (2016b). Cloudlet-based mobile cloud computing for healthcare applications. In 2016 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) (pp. 1–6). IEEE.
Response Post 1
One cannot but agree that the Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) and Mobile Cloudlets technology can improve the level of healthcare services provided worldwide. Especially in countries where hospitals are equipped with smart medical equipment, and patients have access to mobile devices privately while they are at home. Besides, the high speed of information processing and data analysis, as well as ensuring data confidentiality, will make it possible to gain supporters of the technology among patients and medical institutions.
High data processing speed when accessing data from mobile devices is provided by an approach that allows computing processes to be performed directly in the cloud. Moreover, it is precisely the essence of the MCC concept (Somula et al., 2019). When working with data via 3G or LTE, patients cannot achieve a high data exchange rate. The processes slow down even more if the approach of Mobile Outlets is not used, and requests go directly to the central cloud.
There are also some highly intriguing inventions directly related to MCC technology. Scientists have developed an effective way of collecting healthcare data through tiny wireless sensors implanted in the body, which create the so-called wireless body networks – WBAN (Amraoui & Sethom, 2016). The data from the sensors go to Mobile Cloudlets and are immediately processed and analyzed. Thus, scientists note that through WBAN, the patient is monitored continuously, and in case of a critical situation, the healthcare practitioner can take immediate action (Amraoui & Sethom, 2016). However, many medical institutions need to improve the functioning of some IT systems to work with such technologies.
References
El Amraoui, A., & Sethom, K. (2016). Cloudlet softwarization for pervasive healthcare. In 2016 30th International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops (WAINA) (pp. 628–632). IEEE.
Somula, R., Anilkumar, C., Venkatesh, B., Karrothu, A., Kumar, C. P., & Sasikala, R. (2019). Cloudlet services for healthcare applications in mobile cloud computing. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Data Engineering and Communication Technology (pp. 535–543). Springer, Singapore.
Response Post 2
Indeed, Mobile Cloud Computing greatly facilitates the lives of people who deal with data processing through various mobile applications. Interaction with cloud servers allows you to overcome the limitations of mobile devices such as limited memory, CPU power, and battery life. Moreover, when it comes to working with large volumes of data or Big Data, usually characterized by significant volumes, variety, velocity, and veracity, it is essential to preserve these data qualities.
This is especially important when it comes to working with the healthcare applications and adoption of a cloud computing healthcare system. Scientists note that in the nearest future, cloud computing technology will become a critical factor in the creation and effective functioning of the Smart Cities (Lo’ai & Habeeb, 2018). The concept of such cities can cover all areas of urban life. In particular, scientists represent Smart Transport, Smart Healthcare, and Smart Community systems (Islam et al., 2017). Moreover, services provided by such systems will be based on data collected directly from various sensors – for example, those simplifying traffic management or detecting fires.
Besides, the functioning of smart cities will depend on the speed and quality of the exchange, processing, and analysis of Big Data in real-time (Islam et al., 2017). Therefore, a stable structure of wireless and mobile communications will be needed, which could be based on Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) technology. MCC will allow cloud computing, which will significantly increase the speed of all of the systems of the Smart Cities.
References
Lo’ai, A. T., & Habeeb, S. (2018). An integrated cloud-based healthcare system. In 2018 Fifth International Conference on Internet of Things: Systems, Management, and Security (pp. 268–273). IEEE.
Islam, M. M., Razzaque, M. A., Hassan, M. M., Ismail, W. N., & Song, B. (2017). Mobile cloud-based big healthcare data processing in smart cities. IEEE Access, 5, 11887–11899.