SmartEdge: A Smart Contract for Edge Computing

Abstract

Edge computing has emerged as an effective offloading strategy for constrained devices. It enables low-capability devices to leverage nearby resources for assistance with computationally-intensive tasks. We envision a future where Internet of Things (IoT) devices may autonomously transact with other more powerful devices to request such offloading services. We believe blockchain-based technologies can help facilitate this process by tracking usage and managing payments. In this work we introduce SmartEdge, an Ethereum-based smart contract for edge computing and show that it is a low-cost, low-overhead tool for compute-resource management.