Enhancing Resource Allocation Efficiency for Collaborative End-Edge Tasks in the Metaverse’s Virtual Reality

The Metaverse, enabled by internet connectivity and immersive technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality, represents a collective virtual shared space. However, VR technology’s resource-intensive tasks, such as rendering, display, and tracking, result in substantial energy usage. Fortunately, the emergence of edge computing, a technology that places computing and storage resources closer to end-users, promotes the concept of computation offloading. In this paper, we employ an energy-efficient 360-degree VR video transmission scheme that offloads complex VR operations to edge servers. This approach minimizes latency, conserves energy, and adopts a field-of-view-based method for 360-degree VR video generation and transmission. Furthermore, we address the resource allocation challenge for multiple devices and tasks by proposing an enhanced whale optimization algorithm designed to optimize global system performance. Simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed mechanism, showcasing significant reductions in energy consumption and latency for VR devices while maintaining an enhanced user experience.