Optimizing Latency for Augmented Reality Applications via Mobile Edge Computing
Roa’a Mousa Albana’a, Nabeel T. Alsohybe · 2024
One of the most prominent forms of technological integration is that between Augmented Reality (AR) and Cloud Computing, which provides significant storage and processing capabilities, breaking the limitations of relying on the computational power of the end-user devices. Enabling real-time interaction between users and virtual objects, which is provided in AR by blending virtual elements with the user's real environment, that requires high-speed data transmission and real-time responsiveness, as any noticeable delay can disrupt the user’s immersive experience. However, the issue of increased latency emerged as a critical challenge, which is particularly problematic for AR applications due to their need for low latency and high responsiveness to ensure an optimal user experience. This paper demonstrates the crucial role of Mobile Edge Computing (MEC)—located closer to the users—as a component of cloud computing in mitigating the high latency challenges. Furthermore, the paper highlights the significant impact of MEC, particularly in regions with emerging infrastructure, through practical experiments. Based on the results of these experiments, the paper emphasizes the need to expand the adoption of MEC to create high-quality AR experiences.