A Comprehensive Survey on Orbital Edge Computing: Systems, Applications, and Algorithms

TL;DR

This survey comprehensively reviews orbital edge computing (OEC), highlighting recent advancements, challenges, and future directions in satellite network design, resource management, and algorithm development for LEO satellite systems.

Contribution

It is the first extensive survey on OEC, covering system architectures, algorithms, and applications, and distinguishing itself from prior ground-based edge computing surveys.

Findings

Reviewed recent research from 2000 to 2023 on OEC

Identified key challenges in mobility and resource management

Highlighted future research directions in the field

Abstract

The number of satellites, especially those operating in low-earth orbit (LEO), is exploding in recent years. Additionally, the use of COTS hardware into those satellites enables a new paradigm of computing: orbital edge computing (OEC). OEC entails more technically advanced steps compared to single-satellite computing. This feature allows for vast design spaces with multiple parameters, rendering several novel approaches feasible. The mobility of LEO satellites in the network and limited resources of communication, computation, and storage make it challenging to design an appropriate scheduling algorithm for specific tasks in comparison to traditional ground-based edge computing. This article comprehensively surveys the significant areas of focus in orbital edge computing, which include protocol optimization, mobility management, and resource allocation. This article provides the first comprehensive survey of OEC. Previous survey papers have only concentrated on ground-based edge computing or the integration of space and ground technologies. This article presents a review of recent research from 2000 to 2023 on orbital edge computing that covers network design, computation offloading, resource allocation, performance analysis, and optimization. Moreover, having discussed several related works, both technological challenges and future directions are highlighted in the field.