# The Cloud-to-Edge-to-IoT Continuum as an Enabler for Search and Rescue Operations
## 4 Nephele Project as Enabler for SAR Operations  
NEPHELE (NEPHELE project website: [[https://nephele-project.eu/](https://nephele-project.eu/)]([https://nephele-project.eu/](https://nephele-project.eu/)) (accessed on 19 January 2023)) is a research and innovation action (RIA) project funded by the Horizon Europe program under the topic \"Future European platforms for the Edge: Meta Operating Systems\" for the duration of three years (September 2022-August 2025). Its vision is to enable the efficient, reliable and secure end-to-end orchestration of hyper-distributed applications over a programmable infrastructure that is spanning across the compute continuum from IoT to edge to cloud. In doing this, it aims at removing the existing openness and interoperability barriers in the convergence of IoT technologies against cloud and edge computing orchestration platforms and introducing automation and decentralized intelligence mechanisms powered by 5G and distributed AI technologies. To reach this overall objective, the NEPHELE project aims to introduce two core innovations, namely:  
1. An **IoT and edge computing software stack** for leveraging the virtualization of IoT devices at the edge part of the infrastructure and supporting openness and interoperability aspects in a device-independent way. Through this software stack, the management of a wide range of IoT devices and platforms can be realized in a unified way, avoiding the usage of middleware platforms, whereas edge computing functionalities can be offered on demand to efficiently support IoT applications' operations. The concept of the virtual object (VO) is introduced, where the VO is considered the virtual counterpart of an IoT device. The VO significantly extends the notion of a digital twin as it provides a set of abstractions for managing any type of IoT device through a virtualized instance while augmenting the supported functionalities through the hosting of a multi-layer software stack, called a virtual object stack (VOStack). The VOStack is specifically conceived to provide VOs with edge computing and IoT functions, such as, among others, distributed data management and analysis based on machine learning (ML) and digital twinning techniques, authorization, security and trust based on security protocols and blockchain mechanisms, autonomic networking and time-triggered IoT functions taking advantage of ad hoc group management techniques, service discovery and load balancing mechanisms. Furthermore, IoT functions similar to the ones usually supported by digital twins will be offered by the VOStack;
2. A **synergetic meta-orchestration framework** for managing the coordination between cloud and edge computing orchestration platforms, through high-level scheduling supervision and definition. Technological advances in the areas of 5G and beyond networks, AI and cybersecurity are going to be considered and integrated as additional pluggable systems in the proposed synergetic meta-orchestration framework. To support modularity, openness and interoperability with emerging orchestration platforms and IoT technologies, a microservices-based approach is adopted where cloud-native applications are represented in the form of an application graph. The application graph is composed of independently deployable application components that can be orchestrated. Such components regard application components that can be deployed at the cloud or the edge part of the continuum, VOs and IoT-specific virtualized functions that are offered by the VOs. Each component in the application graph is also accompanied by a sidecar -based on a service-mesh approach for supporting generic/supportive functions that can be activated on demand. The meta-orchestrator is responsible for activating the appropriate orchestration modules to efficiently manage the deployment of the application components across the continuum.