AI-empowered Cloud Continuum for 6G: Challenges, Initiatives and Directions
Tuesday, 4 June 2024, 16:00-17:30, Room Nightingale
Session Chair:
- Ilhem Fajjari (Orange, FR)
- Bessem Sayadi (Nokia, FR)
The evolution of computing capabilities of end devices such as metaverse devices (VR/MR headsets, AR glasses, etc.) drones, connected/autonomous cars, etc., has resulted in a heterogeneous extreme edge infrastructure which can also host (micro-) services. Thus, novel infrastructure management schemes are required to orchestrate and manage such heterogeneous infrastructures, referred by computing continuum, (i.e., cloud, near edge, far edge, and extreme/embedded cloud). Distributed resource pool management and unified service deployment and orchestration from the centralized cloud to the embedded cloud (i.e. extreme edge) are at the forefront of techniques proposed for computing continuum infrastructures. The primary objective is to enable seamless service provisioning and management, considering the heterogeneous extreme edge infrastructure. This objective encompasses various goals, including the ability for services to dynamically “follow” users within the far edge and extreme edge domains. This allows for the automatic deployment and migration of vertical microservices across any node in the continuum, without the need to consider specific local infrastructure configurations.
On the other hand, in just a few years, breakthroughs in ML/AI and particularly deep learning have revolutionized various aspects of our lives including face recognition, object tracking, medical diagnosis, and natural language processing. This progress has been driven mainly by the increased availability of data and computing power. Many advances have been made in the last years: Composable AI, Edge ML, Transferable AI, Trustworthy AI, Sustainable AI, Explainable AI are solutions that exploit more and more the distributed nature of the new 6G system while considering the resources characteristics and constraints of cloud continuum infrastructure. Training and inference are carried out collectively over wireless links, where edge devices communicate and exchange their learned models.
The Special Session brought together industry experts and researchers working on innovative software and systems solutions for the cloud continuum, including but not limited to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Systems and Software Architecture, Modelling and related challenges.
The special session will aim to facilitate discussion, and exchange of ideas and practices, and successfully promotes innovative solutions towards cloud continuum to support 6G requisites.
Program:
The session is organized as a set of invited keynotes from EU policy officers, business actors, technological experts, and researchers in the field. The session starts by an overview of the EU strategy on the progress and the future of networks and edge computing. It will be followed by a presentation addressing 6G cloud continuum orchestration aligned with the vision of the Hexa-X-II project. Then, insights on how the AI and edge computing drive competitive advantage businesses will be given. Next, Telefonica’s perspective on the AI for cloud continuum will be presented. Finally, research challenges and future innovations in the field will be exposed by Professor Johann Marquez-Barja.
Each talk will be followed by a Q&A session.
It is worth noting that all the speakers mentioned below already confirmed their participation and will attend the conference.
The session program is as follow (1h30):
- Opening, 5 min
- Session chairs, Bessem Sayadi (NOKIA) and Ilhem Fajjari (ORANGE),
- “Progress and future perspectives for edge computing in Europe”, 20 min
- Ms Ana Juan Ferrer, Program Officer at EU Policies, DG-CONNECT, Future Networks, Cloud and Software and Ms Anna Caterina Carli, Policy Officer, DG CONNECT- Future Connectivity Systems, EU Commission,
- “Jazz Networks: A proposal for deploying network services in the 6G cloud continuum”, 15 min
- Ignacio Labrador Pavon, EVIDEN, Spain,
- AI in the edge-cloud continuum: Driving competitive advantage for businesses, 15 min
- Dr Marco Gonzalez Hierro, IKERLAN,
- “AI for the cloud continuum: an operator´s perspective”, 15 min
- Dr David Artuñedo Guillen, Telefonica,
- “Understanding the impact of software-defined technologies in 6G networks”, 15 min
- Johann Marquez-Barja, IMEC/IDLab,
- Closing, 5min
