Edge Caching, Edge Compute, and the Cloud (LOADED Episode 4)

Ask around in aviation and you will hear the same promise: add edge caching, and your in-flight entertainment keeps running when the connectivity drops. It does not. Edge caching only exists as a combination of what sits on board and what stays in the cloud. So what is edge caching really, and where does it stop? In this fourth episode of "LOADED. Talking Software for Connected Aircraft", Ralph Wagner and Stefanie Schuster (Axinom) take edge caching back to its origins in OTT streaming and content delivery networks, then bring it into the aircraft. They lay out the triangle of edge cache, edge compute, and cloud services, draw the line between edge caching and over-the-air sync, and explain what a genuinely disconnected, resilient in-flight entertainment (IFE) experience actually demands on board. Along the way: mixed fleets and personal devices, the three ways to fill a cache (pull, predict, push), why caching reaches well beyond movies into IoT, crew applications, and transactions, and why an open platform is what lets an airline decide what to cache in the first place. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:34 What is edge caching? Cache, compute, and cloud services 05:40 Edge caching on the aircraft vs. over-the-air sync 11:12 Connectivity, resilience, and the disconnected case 17:39 Mixed fleets and personal devices 21:51 Filling the cache: pull, predict, push 26:15 Decision variables, open platforms, and conclusion Watch now and let us know your thoughts in the comments. And don't forget to like and subscribe for upcoming episodes.