Distributed Scalable Edge Computing Infrastructure for Open Metaverse
Larry Zhou, Jordan Lambert, Yanyan Zheng, Zheng Li, Alan Yen, S. Liu, Vivian Ye, Maggie Zhou, David Mahar, John Gibbons, Michael Satterlee · 2023
In order to create and distribute the immense computing power required for the Metaverse, the industry must make strategic investments. AT&T believes that networking and edge computing are among the most essential components of a successful Metaverse ecosystem. AT&T proposes an “end-toend distributed edge computing network infrastructure” using its innovative uCPE [1] Whitebox platform. This innovation includes GPU virtualization, low-latency graphic rendering at the edge, and real-time streaming of 3D immersive content to end users. The groundbreaking design leverages existing wireless/wired home networks to create an overlay network that offloads heavy computing from head-mounted displays (HMDs) to the edge uCPE and distributes the virtual computing power to every end user with high scalability and low costs. In addition, AT&T introduces hardware and software probes to proactively monitor the end-to-end network performance with fault detection and self-healing capabilities, optimizing network paths and providing an uninterrupted immersive experience to users.