Special Issue on Edge and Serverless Computing Submission Date: 2024-11-30 The momentum behind edge computing has surged, establishing itself as a primary option for deploying ubiquitous applications and services. While Serverless computing has emerged as the favored solution for mobile applications, its complete potential in ad-hoc networks is yet to be fully realized. Furthermore, integrating these two technologies, characterized by their decentralized and dynamic nature, find applications across various domains due to their flexibility and adaptability, such as military communication, emergency and disaster response, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), wireless sensor networks (WSNs), collaborative robotics (CoBots), healthcare applications, education and training, environmental monitoring, entertainment, gaming and more. This integration offers advantages such as diminished latency, cost savings in data transfer, and enhanced scalability.

While existing technologies excel in conventional settings, their applicability falters in the emerging landscape of decentralized edge environments, envisioned as the norm for future IoT-driven ad-hoc ecosystems. The prospect of integrating edge serverless solutions appears promising, given that Serverless computing offers distinct advantages, including scalability, cost efficiency, high availability, swift deployment, auto-scaling, and inherent security features. Nevertheless, the reluctance within the community to fully embrace Serverless Edge Computing persists due to the cloud-centric design of current Serverless platforms and the unique attributes of edge landscapes and IoT applications.

This special issue endeavors to close the existing gap and unlock the capabilities of edge-serverless solutions for ad hoc networks and relevant services, e.g. autonomous vehicles, UAVs, etc. It provides a platform for researchers and practitioners to exchange innovative ideas, recent research findings, practical experiences, valuable insights, and future directions. The goal is to propel the exploration of edge serverless technologies, facilitating seamless application deployment and management. The topics covered include, but are not limited to:

Routing Protocols considering node mobility, energy constraints, and scalability for edge-serverless enabled ad hoc networks.

Security, privacy, and trust issues in edge-serverless powered ad hoc networks.

Edge-serverless powered wireless sensor networks.

Analytical modeling and simulation methods.

Performance measurement, evaluation, and monitoring tools for ad-hoc networks.

6G and beyond communication for ad hoc networks.

Digital twins for ad-hoc networks.

Function-as-a-service (FaaS) for ad-hoc networks.

AI and ML Integration in serverless powered ad hoc edge networks.

Case studies of FaaS for ad hoc networks.

Offloading for applications in ad hoc networks.

Blockchain integration in Serverless computing for ad hoc networks.

Survey on the potential of edge serverless for ad hoc networks.

Quality of Service (QoS) improvement techniques for edge serverless.

Modeling, simulation, and testbed evaluations for edge-serverless powered ad hoc network applications.

Prototyping and real-world implementation for edge-serverless powered ad hoc networks.