OPE2 – 5G, 6G, and Future Wireless Networks
Wednesday, 5 June 2024, 11:00-13:00, room Nightingale
Session Chair: Nina Slamnik-Krijestorac (University of Antwerp-IMEC, BE)
Video Adaptation Based on 5G Network QoS in Harsh Underground Environment
Antti Heikkinen (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland); Mikko Uitto (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Finland); Heli Kokkoniemi-Tarkkanen and Sami Ruponen (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland); Seppo Horsmanheimo (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Finland); Petri Hyvärinen (Satel, Finland)
The mining industry is deploying private 5G networks in harsh underground environments due to foreseeable benefits of the advanced technology. Safe operation with autonomous and remotely controlled machines set strict requirements for the communication quality of service (QoS) and application adaptivity. Live video streaming is essential for remote operations of the mining vehicles and video adaptation is needed not only against network uplink throughput fluctuations, but also to guarantee prioritized network traffic. This paper presents our adaptive video streaming implementation, which is able to adjust to the prevailing uplink network conditions near real-time based on the gathered network QoS information. The paper also shows the extensive set of verification tests in an underground test environment using a moving vehicle and a private 5G standalone network. The results from these field tests showcase the clear advantage of using video adaptation based on network QoS for reducing the uplink delay peaks in video streaming.
Towards Efficient Urban Mobility: Deployment Strategies for Smart Traffic Management and Crowd Monitoring Systems
Nicolae Cleju, Carlos Pascal, Cprian Romeo Comsa and Constantin F. Caruntu (Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania); Iulian B. Ciocoiu (GHEORGHE ASACHI Technical University of Iasi, Romania); Cristian Patachia – Sultanoiu (Orange Romania SA & Technical University Gheorghe Asachi of Iasi, Romania); Razvan Mihai (University Politehnica of Bucharest & Orange Romania, Romania)
Rapid urbanization requires innovative solutions to ensure public safety, traffic optimization and enhanced urban mobility. This paper presents challenges and opportunities in the deployment of smart traffic management and smart crowd monitoring systems, leveraging the capabilities of 5G networks and using recent AI video-based techniques. The systems are currently under implementation in the city of Iasi, Romania. The paper describes the target use cases, the network architecture and software platform of the system, and the results of tests conducted in the deployment locations, both of the 5G network and of the application platform, providing insights into the development of more efficient urban mobility solutions.
5G Standalone Seamless Roaming for Service Continuity in Cross-Border CCAM Services
Belma Turkovic, Rintse Van de Vlasakker, Nassima Toumi, Ramon S. Schwartz and Peter-Paul Schackmann (TNO, The Netherlands); Dries Naudts (Ghent University & Imec, Belgium); Vasilis Maglogiannis (Ghent University – imec & IDLab Research Group, Belgium); Ingrid Moerman (Ghent University – IMEC, Belgium)
The 5G-Blueprint project aims to provide technical solutions for Cooperative, connected and automated mobility (CCAM) use cases such as tele-operated transport services. These use cases have strict latency requirements and rely on uninterrupted (i.e., seamless) communication. However, achieving seamless communication is particularly challenging in case of cross-border (i.e. roaming) scenarios, where the vehicle’s communication is typically interrupted from a few seconds to minutes. To support these services, we develop a practical implementation of a seamless 5G Standalone Roaming based on 3GPP standards, with additional optimizations to the call flows to further reduce the interruption time. The seamless SA 5G roaming implementation and proposed optimizations are evaluated in a cross-border trials site between The Netherlands and Belgium. Results show an interruption time in the range of 90-150 milliseconds, which paves the way towards enabling cross-border tele-operated automotive services.
On the Interplay of 5G NR, WiFi and LiFi Towards 6G Multi-Connectivity
Tim Farnschläder, Maximilian Dietrich, Iftikhar Ahmed Saeed and Wolfgang Kiess (University of Applied Sciences Koblenz, Germany); Eike Lyczkowski (SEW-EURODRIVE, Germany)
In industrial environments, multiple wireless networks such as fifth generation (5G) cellular, wireless fidelity (WiFi), visible light communication and radar based communication coexist nowadays. The resulting diversity offers many options for data transmission and an efficient utilization of these networks requires intelligent management. This paper proposes the multi-connectivity interplay of different such wireless access technologies (WATs) into the 5G core network to achieve a soft handover between the technologies. Specifically, WiFi and LiFi are combined with 5G new radio (NR) and coupled with an open source 5G core network. We outline tests with this prototype in an experimental testbed and report findings with a focus on inter-technology hard handovers. The results shows that having radio telemetry available when taking such handover decisions is a key requirement for future systems.
CONVERGE: A Vision-Radio Research Infrastructure Towards 6G and Beyond
Filipe Borges Teixeira (INESC TEC and Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade Do Porto, Portugal); Manuel Ricardo (Universidade do Porto & INESC TEC, Portugal); André Coelho (INESC TEC and Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade Do Porto, Portugal); Helder P. Oliveira (INESC TEC & Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Do Porto, Portugal); Paula Viana (Polytechnic of Porto-ISEP & INESC TEC, Portugal); Nuno M. Paulino (INESC TEC & Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal); Helder Fontes (INESC TEC and FEUP, Portugal); Paulo Marques (Allbesmart Lda, Portugal); Rui Campos (INESC TEC and Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal); Luis M. Pessoa (INESC TEC & Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal)
Telecommunications and computer vision have evolved separately so far. Yet, with the shift to sub-terahertz (sub-THz) and terahertz (THz) radio communications, there is an opportunity to explore computer vision technologies together with radio communications, considering the dependency of both technologies on Line of Sight. The combination of radio sensing and computer vision can address challenges such as obstructions and poor lighting. Also, machine learning algorithms, capable of processing multimodal data, play a crucial role in deriving insights from raw and low-level sensing data, offering a new level of abstraction that can enhance various applications and use cases such as beamforming and terminal handovers. This paper introduces CONVERGE, a pioneering vision-radio paradigm that bridges this gap by leveraging Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) to facilitate a dual “View-to-Communicate, Communicate-to-View” approach. CONVERGE offers tools that merge wireless communications and computer vision, establishing a novel Research Infrastructure (RI) that will be open to the scientific community and capable of providing open datasets. This new infrastructure will support future research in 6G and beyond concerning multiple verticals, such as telecommunications, automotive, manufacturing, media, and health.
On-Demand Trial Networks over 6G-SANDBOX Infrastructure
Pedro Merino (University of Malaga, Spain); Bruno Garcia and Carlos Andreo (Universidad de Malaga, Spain); David Artuñedo Guillen (Telefónica, Spain); Jesus Macias Porcela (Telefonica, Spain)
The transition from 5G to 6G technologies needs comprehensive experimental infrastructure to serve as early placeholders for validation of 6G Technologies as Proof of Concepts. Such infrastructure is vital for demonstrating the benefits of these technologies in terms of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Value Indicators (KVIs), employing a repeatable and automatable testing methodology. However, the prohibitive cost of constructing proprietary testbeds for validation poses a significant challenge for many institutions. This underscores the imperative for shared, cost-effective experimental infrastructure that is accessible under reasonable conditions and capable of continuous upgrades to accommodate evolving 6G innovations. Addressing this challenge, 6G-SANDBOX project offers a solution through the design and implementation of a testing facility that automates the processes of definition, deployment, and experimentation with ad-hoc end-to-end networks. Trial Networks, within this framework, are fully manageable and con- figurable mobile end-to-end networks created to support one or several experiments by multiple users over shared infrastructure. The primary advantage of the 6G-SANDBOX approach lies in its automation and orchestration capabilities, specifically the zero- touch provisioning of secure, low-cost experimental testbeds and the capabilities to repeat experiments as needed. This empowers experimenters of various profiles to conduct short to long-term experimentation campaigns with low investment.
Sub-THz Waveform Evaluation in D-Band: A Proof-Of-Concept Study
Le-Hang Nguyen (Bell Labs, Nokia, Germany); Holger Heimpel (Nokia, Germany); Dileepa Madhubhashana Marasinghe (University of Oulu, Finland); Hardy Halbauer and Thorsten Wild (Nokia Bell Labs, Germany)
The objective of this study is to evaluate different waveform designs under typical hardware impacts and constraints for realizing sub-terahertz (sub-THz) wireless transmission. The assessment of the waveforms is performed using a proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstrator system based on real practical sub-THz hardware operating in the D-band at 144 GHz, with a transmission bandwidth of up to 5 GHz. The setup consists of radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) components specifically designed for the D-band. We examine both conventional waveforms and those with low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and enhanced robustness against phase noise, learned through data-driven techniques. The results showcase the feasibility of transmitting the low-PAPR waveforms without EVM degradation, suggesting that high-rate sub-THz wireless transmissions could be a viable option for future communication systems.
