Open Campus Networks - Driving the Evolution of 5G to 6G

By Prof. Dr. Thomas Magedanz

Technische Universität Berlin, Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany

 

Abstract

In this tutorial, Prof. Magedanz will illustrate the momentum of emerging 5G Campus Networks and their impact on the evolution of 5G towards 6G.

 

In the first part, this tutorial will provide an overview of the drivers for 5G Campus Networks and the state of play in Campus Networks in Germany, as Germany is considered to be the pioneer in that area, due to local spectrum availability since 2019 and many Proof of Concept implementations.

 There is no doubt, that public 5G rollouts in the near future will not be able to provide the required functional capabilities for many different verticals, which are demanding very specific customized 5G infrastructures. 5G campus networks represent a technical approach to bypass these limitations by providing a dedicated, optimized and eventually agile local 5G network, which could be provided in different operation models, e.g. by operators, integrators, or the enterprises themselves. Taking also the current trend towards digital sovereignty and the resulting openness and functional disaggregation of RAN and core networks into account, as well as the increasing move towards DevOps and CD/CI operation models, a lot of innovation is expected in the Campus Network domain. This may lead towards a new eco system for open Campus Network components, tools, and dedicated enablers for specific application domains. Just recently the BMWK flagship project “CampusOS” (https://campus-os.io/) has been started to set the foundation for such an European eco system.

 

In the second part, the tutorial will illustrate how the major current campus network research topics relate to 6G research, such as integration of Satellite and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) enabling new nomadic network realizations, new access higher frequency networks, such as THz, for more bandwidth and better positioning and new sensing capabilities, network function disaggregation and RAN-Core convergence driven by OpenRAN enabling more competition, the usage of AI/ML for automated network management and optimization, and the definition of a new end to end software based architecture (SBA) enabling CD/CI. This part is based on the first results and experiences gained within the Fraunhofer 6G Flagship Project “6G Sentinel” as well as the two German BMBF 6G Research Hubs “Open6GHub” (https://www.open6ghub.de/en/) and “6G-RIC” (https://6g-ric.de/), in which Fraunhofer FOKUS is responsible for designing and developing key components for a new 6G network control and management plane.

 

In the last part, current examples on enabling Campus Networks and facilitating 6G research will be given. Here the use of the globally recognized Fraunhofer FOKUS Open5GCore toolkit (www.open5GCore.org) and 5G playground (www.5G-playground.org) will be illustrated in various research and development projects. More information can also be found at the website www.6G-ready.org on use cases and technology directions to be presented.

 

Biography (Thomas Magedanz)

Thomas Magedanz (PhD) has been professor at the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, leading the chair for next generation networks (www.av.tu-berlin.de) since 2004. In addition, since 2003 he has been Director of the Business Unit Software-based Networks (NGNI) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS (www.fokus.fraunhofer.de/go/ngni) in Berlin.   For more than 30 years Prof. Magedanz has been a globally recognized ICT expert, working in the convergence field of telecommunications, Internet and information technologies understanding both the technology domains and the international market demands. His interest is in software-based networks for different verticals, with a strong focus on public and non-public campus networks. His current interest is in the evolution from 5G to 6G.   In December 2021 he published the book “Shaping Future 6G Networks – Needs, Impacts, and Technologies” together with E. Bertin and N. Crespi as Editors with IEEE/Wiley (see https://futurenetworks.ieee.org/tech-focus/other-future-networks-publications). For more details look here: http://www.av.tu-berlin.de/menue/team/prof_dr_thomas_magedanz/

 

 

From Digital Twins to the Metaverse: Are they hype or reality?

Abstract: The Fourth Industrial Revolution is in full bloom, and the current global Covid-19 pandemic has even further accelerated the digital transformation by several years. The travel restrictions, lockdowns, and pending economic decline have forced industry executives to adapt their business prospects and shift their focus from saving costs to increasing investments in digital development. Digital Twin (DT) is an emerging technology surrounded by many promises and potentials to reshape the future of industries and society overall. It is a replication of all the elements, processes, dynamics, and firmware of a physical system into a digital counterpart. The two systems (physical and digital) exist side by side, sharing all the inputs and operations using real-time data communications and information transfer. Meanwhile, the term ‘metaverse’ has been recently surfaced to further facilitate the digital transformation through a seamless convergence of our physical and digital lives, creating a unified, virtual community where we can work, play, relax, transact and socialize. The metaverse will include many virtual/digital worlds which are taking shape to enable people to deepen and extend social interactions digitally, and to enable firms and organisations to reshape the way they operate and do business using virtual platforms. With the incorporation of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), transfer learning, 3D models, next generation mobile communications (5G/6G), distributed computing, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR), the development of the DT and the metaverse are picking up at pace. This tutorial will offer a review of the state-of-play, discuss the development challenges and look into some use cases of these technology trends.

 

Bio: Prof. Huan X. Nguyen is the Director of the London Digital Twin Research Centre (https://dt.mdx.ac.uk/), Head of the 5G/6G & IoT Research Group and a Professor of Digital Communication Engineering at Middlesex University London (U.K.). He leads research activities in digital twin modelling, 5G/6G enabling technologies, IoT communication, and machine learning within his university with the use case focus being on the digital transformation, industry 4.0, the metaverse and critical applications (disaster recovery and management, intelligent transportation, environment and health). Prof. Nguyen received his Ph.D. from the University of  New South Wales in telecommunications in 2007. He has been leading 10+ major funded projects, publishing 120+ peer-reviewed research papers, and serving as chairs for isnternational conferences (e.g., in the recent ICT’21, ICEM2021, ICT’20, ICT’19, PIMRC’20, FoNeS-IoT’20).