Combined Federated and Split Learning in Edge Computing for Ubiquitous Intelligence in Internet of Things: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions

Sensors (Basel). 2022 Aug 10;22(16):5983. doi: 10.3390/s22165983.

Abstract

Federated learning (FL) and split learning (SL) are two emerging collaborative learning methods that may greatly facilitate ubiquitous intelligence in the Internet of Things (IoT). Federated learning enables machine learning (ML) models locally trained using private data to be aggregated into a global model. Split learning allows different portions of an ML model to be collaboratively trained on different workers in a learning framework. Federated learning and split learning, each have unique advantages and respective limitations, may complement each other toward ubiquitous intelligence in IoT. Therefore, the combination of federated learning and split learning recently became an active research area attracting extensive interest. In this article, we review the latest developments in federated learning and split learning and present a survey on the state-of-the-art technologies for combining these two learning methods in an edge computing-based IoT environment. We also identify some open problems and discuss possible directions for future research in this area with the hope of arousing the research community's interest in this emerging field.

Keywords: edge computing; federated learning; internet of things; split learning; ubiquitous intelligence.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things*
  • Machine Learning

Grants and funding

This research was funded in part by Penn State Faculty Development Grant 2021–2022 and by National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant (No. 61873309, 92046024, and 92146002). The APC was funded by the Pennsylvania State University.