I-Corps: Translation Potential of Object as a Service Serverless Cloud Computing Paradigm

Award ID: 2524083

This I-Corps project focuses on the development of a software platform that enables the rapid, low-effort creation of software for building, deploying, and managing modern applications in cloud computing environments. This technology addresses the growing need to simplify application development across cloud and Internet of Things systems by providing a solution that unifies data, logic, and performance management into a single package. The current approach to building such applications requires high expertise, prolonged development cycles, and costly deployment optimization. These impediments create barriers for small businesses, educational users, and non-technical innovators. By reducing the complexity and effort required to build cloud-based applications, this technology expands access to powerful digital tools and supports innovation. The solution holds potential to increase workforce readiness, improve efficiency in industries reliant on cloud and connected systems, and expand the digital transformation. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a software platform that enables rapid, low-effort creation of cloud-native applications. This solution is based on the development of a serverless application abstraction that encapsulates data handling, workflow coordination, and deployment constraints in a unified, object-oriented structure. Current paradigms treat computing and data separately leading to inefficiencies and high tuning overhead. This technology recognizes data locality and enables declarative specification of quality-of-service preferences then satisfies those preferences, automatically minimizing the need for user intervention. This encapsulation extends across edge and cloud systems, enabling fault-tolerant and responsive operation even in unreliable network environments. The resulting architecture reduces software development burden and supports performance and consistency at scale, providing a technical advancement over existing cloud service abstractions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman