Metaheuristic algorithms for computation offloading : a comprehensive review

Abstract

With the development of computing paradigms such as edge computing, fog computing, and cloud computing, and the need for users to process their requested services, deciding which services should be processed locally and which ones should be processed non-locally has become a challenge. This issue is addressed by the concept of computation offloading. computation offloading is a process in which heavy computational tasks are transferred from resource-constrained devices, such as IoT devices, smartphones, and sensors, to remote computing servers with significant computational capacity. Due to the existence of numerous conditions, including environmental dynamics, user mobility, etc., and the existence of various criteria such as latency, energy consumption, cost, etc., the  computation offloading problem is classified as NP-hard. To address these problems and reach a near-optimal solution in rational time, we can use metaheuristic algorithms. In this study, we review and analyze relevant research in the field of computational offloading using metaheuristic algorithms. This article can provide a perspective for researchers interested in research in this field and inform them about the challenges and open issues in this field.