Swarm Computing: The Emergence of a Collective Artificial Intelligence at the Edge of the Internet

Abstract

Billions of devices are interacting in a growing global network, currently designated as the Internet of Things (IoT). In this scenario, embedded computers with sensors and actuators are widespread in all sorts of smart things, transforming the way we live. The complexity produced by the enormous amount of devices expected in the future IoT leads to new challenges. Furthermore, current IoT architectures are highly cloud-centric and do not take advantage of all its potential. To overcome these issues, we propose Swarm computing as the emergence of a collective artificial intelligence out of a decentralized and organic network of cooperating devices. The major contribution of this article is to provide the reader with a comprehensive vision of the key aspects of the Swarm Computing paradigm. In addition, this article addresses technical solutions, related projects, and the Swarm Computing challenges that the research community is called to contribute with.