“What is ‘The Cloud’ Anyway?”

We “upload to the cloud.” We “stream from the cloud.” It sounds like our data is floating in the sky. In reality, “The Cloud” is a concrete bunkers in Northern Virginia (or Oregon, or Ireland) filled with blinking black racks of servers. It is just Someone Else’s Computer.

Cloud vs. Edge

• Cloud Computing: Sending data to a massive supercomputer far away.
  • Pros: Infinite power. Infinite storage.
  • Cons: Latency. It takes time for data to travel light-speed through fiber optics to Virginia and back.
• Edge Computing: Processing data locally, on the device.
  • Pros: Instant (Real-time). Works without internet.
  • Cons: Limited power. Limited battery.

Why Robots Hate the Cloud

Imagine a self-driving car sees a child run into the street.

• Cloud Approach:
  1. Send image to Amazon AWS. (50ms)
  2. Server analyzes image. (10ms)
  3. Server sends “BRAKE!” command back. (50ms)
  • Total: 110ms. Too slow. The car hits the child.
• Edge Approach:
  1. Onboard computer analyzes image. (5ms)
  2. Car brakes.
  • Total: 5ms. Safe.

The FTC Control Hub

Your robot has a “Control Hub.” It is an Edge Device. It processes vision, gyroscope, and motor logic right there on the robot. It does not need Wi-Fi to think. This is critical because in a competition, the Wi-Fi is noisy and unreliable. While the Cloud is great for storing your photos or hosting this website, real-time robotics lives on the Edge.