6G waves magazine : autumn 2021
Editori
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:9789526231297
Tiivistelmä
Foreword
The first four-year phase of 6G Flagship is coming to an end soon and now it is time to sum up what has been going on in 6G research since 2018 and how the coming years seem to be forming.
The 6G White Papers we crafted in collaboration with a large international research community have served as the first roadmap towards 6G. They have been incredibly popular as they have been downloaded already almost one million times. Thank you once again to all contributors!
The key messages given in the White Papers have been well received and many of them are found today in other major 6G programmes research agendas. Global connectivity, reaching out towards the UN SDGs, renewal of future business ecosystems, communication and sensing at THz frequency bands and many other major research themes are now key parts of leading projects such as the European Hexa-X. In this magazine, we touch upon these themes in several stories.
Recently, we have produced a comprehensive set of 6G inspired demos, which are introduced in this magazine. The demos provide insights into our ongoing experiments, which are taking us fast towards the world of 6G. Also, the proof-of-concept development discussed in this magazine shows our capabilities and determination in building operational systems early on. These skills become even more important in our efforts in developing the first functional 6G test network in the coming years.
As a part of corona recovery plans, many countries have initiated ambitious 6G programmes like the one in Germany which was launched last summer. In total around 50 research and industry partners are joining in four 6G Hubs, totalling 250M€ funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. This investment together with the huge number of smaller initiatives makes the efforts around 6G in Germany really significant. Our collaboration with most of the 6G Hubs and partners in Germany will increase within EU funded projects in the future.
In Japan, the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium (B5GPC) was formed earlier in the spring with an overall investment of $2 billion in 6G technologies in the coming years. 6G Flagship signed an MoU with B5GPC this summer and I had the honour to be invited to their International Advisory Board. Our collaboration in Japan will greatly intensify also via my new position as a Global Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo. I believe we can efficiently pursue future challenges with concepts like the ones evolving from local 5G or utilization of THz technologies in future mobile systems.
The second phase of 6G Flagship starts first in May 2022 with an updated, ambitious research agenda that will benefit from the global collaboration with leading players. For example, we are further expanding our collaboration with South-Korean ETRI with three new initiatives planned for the next three years. In parallel, we expect that European collaboration intensifies with Horizon Europe Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking. Similarly, collaboration with Japanese institutions will materialize via our involvement in Japanese 6G activities.
We will also deepen our research efforts within vertical application areas including health, industry, vehicular, and energy as wireless connectivity has already become an interlinked part of critical infrastructures of society. Collaboration with key players in these sectors enables us to develop 6G technologies in the most beneficial ways for society. Improving dialogue between various actors will be our priority so that we can all gain most out of the ongoing digital transition enabled by wireless connectivity solutions.
We wish Happy Holidays and most innovative New Year 2022 to all!
Matti Latva-aho
Director of 6G Flagship
University of Oulu, Finland
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