EdgeDS: Data Spaces enabled Multi-Access Edge Computing

The potential of Edge Computing technologies is yet to be exploited for multi-domain, multi-party data-driven systems. One aspect that needs to be tackled for the realization of envisioned open-edge Ecosystems, is the secure and trusted exchange of data services among diverse stakeholders. In this work, we present a novel approach for integrating mechanisms for trustworthy and sovereign data exchange, into Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) environments. To this end, we introduce an architecture that extends the ETSI MEC Architectural Framework with artifacts from the International Data Spaces Reference Architecture Model, accompanied by processes that automatically enrich Edge Computing applications with data space capabilities in an as-a-service paradigm. To validate our approach, we implement an open-source prototype solution and we conduct experiments that showcase its functionality and scalability. To our knowledge, this is one of the first concrete architectural specifications for enabling data space features in MEC systems.