Paper Details

Name: Sandeep Kaur Gill
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Volume-13, Issue-2, Year-2026 (July-December)
Page Number: 55-64
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22297230

Mobile computing has evolved from portable access to information into an intelligent distributed-computing paradigm spanning mobile devices, heterogeneous wireless networks, edge infrastructure, and centralized cloud platforms. The growth of smartphones, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, connected vehicles, immersive applications, and artificial intelligence (AI) has created demanding requirements for low latency, energy efficiency, reliability, privacy, and service continuity. This paper presents a comprehensive review of mobile computing with emphasis on mobile cloud computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), multi-access edge computing, computation offloading, mobility management, edge intelligence, security, privacy, and sustainable resource management. Based on the literature, a conceptual Adaptive Mobile Computing Orchestration (AMCO) framework is proposed to select execution locations across device, edge, and cloud environments using a multi-objective utility model. The framework incorporates latency, energy, reliability, privacy, resource availability, and workload characteristics. A research methodology is defined for experimental validation using heterogeneous devices, multiple edge nodes, variable network conditions, realistic mobility traces, and representative workloads. The paper identifies major research gaps in cross-layer orchestration, trust-aware placement, mobility-aware service continuity, privacy-preserving AI, and reproducible experimentation. Finally, it discusses the implications of 5G-Advanced and 6G/IMT-2030, including AI and communication, integrated sensing and communication, ubiquitous connectivity, sustainability, and resilience. The study concludes that future mobile computing should be designed as an adaptive, secure, intelligent, and sustainable computing continuum rather than as a wireless-access technology alone.

Keywords: Mobile computing; mobile edge computing; mobile cloud computing; computation offloading; device-edge-cloud continuum; 5G; 6G; edge intelligence; IoT; mobility management; privacy; energy efficiency