An Overview of Technical Aspects and Challenges in Designing Edge-Cloud Systems

Edge–cloud computing has emerged as a key enabling paradigm for augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) systems because of the stringent computational and ultra-low-latency requirements of AR/VR workloads. Designing efficient edge–cloud systems for such workloads involves multiple technical aspects, including communication technologies, service placement, task offloading and caching, service migration, and security and privacy. This paper provides a structured and technical analysis of these aspects from an AR/VR perspective. We adopt a two-stage literature analysis, in which Google Scholar is used to identify fundamental technical aspects and solution approaches, followed by a focused analysis of recent research trends and future directions using academic databases (e.g., IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and ScienceDirect). We present an organized classification of the core technical aspects and investigate existing solution approaches, including heuristic, metaheuristic, learning-based, and hybrid strategies. Rather than introducing application-specific designs, the analysis focuses on workload-driven challenges and trade-offs that arise in AR/VR systems. Based on this classification, we analyze recent research trends, identify underexplored technical areas, and highlight key research gaps that hinder the efficient deployment of AR/VR services over edge–cloud infrastructures. The findings of this study provide practical insights for researchers and system designers and help guide future research toward more responsive, scalable, and reliable edge–cloud AR/VR systems.