It has been many years since the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a reality, and system architectures have undergone many adjustments to meet the latest challenges. Because of these, the idea of edge computing was born. As the computing power of edge devices increases, the overall performance of systems has also improved. However, high computing power naturally increases power consumption. In addition, as the number of network devices gets larger, their locations more dispersed, and their deployment environments more varied, supplying power to devices has become increasingly challenging. As a power supply veteran, FSP foresaw new power supply demands and launched myriad products to meet the edge computing needs of customers. In recent years, the company has joined hands with partners of the 5G Ecosystem Alliance to create the most suitable solutions for different sectors.
In its early days, IoT primarily operated using a centralized computing architecture, wherein an upper cloud platform was in charge of centrally computing the data returned from all the edge devices. This approach not only overburdened the upper cloud platform with heavy computing demands, but the greatly increased bandwidth requirements and signal travel time caused an increase in system latency, resulting in poor performance. To solve this problem, edge computing was introduced. With an edge computing architecture, edge devices and the cloud platform are both assigned important roles. Since the edge device has a certain degree of computing power, it is able to immediately respond and give feedback to user needs, while the cloud platform only needs to receive the filtered and processed data from the edge device then store that data for long-term analysis. This approach is able to enhance the overall system performance and efficiency. Many fields have already adopted an edge computing architecture. One notable example would be facial recognition devices, which are now commonly used in access control systems. Other fields, including transportation, manufacturing, retail, medical, gaming, and many others have also found ways to apply this architecture.
While edge computing can significantly improve system performance, it also poses a challenge to the power supply design of end devices. FSP pointed out that under a centralized computing architecture, edge devices only need to acquire and transmit data; in addition, the relatively simple functions of the devices have kept power supply designs simple. Now in the edge computing era, however, existing general-purpose power supplies are increasingly unable to meet market demands. First, the hardware and software functions of edge devices under the edge computing architecture are very different due to the multiple purposes they serve. Second, as the number of connected devices continues to increase and the environments they are located in are more diverse, managing the devices has also become extremely difficult. Finally, edge devices are usually small in size, which makes it exceedingly challenging to satisfy the efficiency and heat dissipation standards for their power supplies. Thankfully, FSP's product layout can solve all these problems.
In order to meet the needs of edge computing, FSP has developed three product strategies: small-volume PSUs with variable power density, high efficiency, and manageability. In terms of small-volume PSUs with variable power density, FSP has a complete product line from which equipment manufacturers can easily select power supplies that best meet their size and power density needs. In terms of high efficiency, FSP also works closely with partners to draw from their expertise and FSP's own design capabilities to provide solutions that can effectively dissipate heat in high-intensity operations to enhance system stability. As for manageability, FSP products support a wide range of mainstream industrial protocols in the market to facilitate the management of distributed edge devices.
FSP further pointed out that the company not only engages in equipment manufacturing, but is also actively developing its own FSP-branded products. This proximity to market demands means that FSP's products can meet client demands both in terms of specifications and price. Additionally, the company's leading position in the market has been cemented by the breadth and depth of its product layout. This allows edge device equipment manufacturers to quickly create an edge-computing architecture solution that meets customers' needs by using FSP's one-stop-shop service. In addition to its own technical capabilities and product layout, FSP has actively engaged in cross-field collaborations. In recent years, the company has joined hands with partners of the 5G Ecosystem Alliance, including JPC, Chenbro, and ADLINK to integrate their products into solutions. According to FSP, the alliance members are all similarly positioned in each of their respective markets, which is why their combined efforts can create an even more impressive synergy. As for its future plans, FSP will continue to invest in R&D, expand its product line, and deepen collaboration with the 5G Ecosystem Alliance members to provide power supplies that excel in both performance and stability.
While edge computing can significantly improve system performance, it also poses a challenge to the power supply design of end devices