Project title: Perceptive communication networks with integrated sensing for the 6th generation of mobile communications - Komsens-6G
Project period: November 2022 – November 2025
More about KOMSENS-6G
The goal of KOMSENS-6G is to add another core functionality to the 6th generation mobile radio system: radio sensing. Sensing the environment using mobile radio signals is essential and useful for future mobile radio systems both in public spaces and in the context of campus networks. New use cases in areas such as industrial production (e.g. digital twin) and mobility (e.g. traffic monitoring) will be enabled. In addition, this can be used to better optimize the communication interface. To achieve this goal, all relevant components of the mobile radio system are analyzed and adapted accordingly, so that the sensing functionality itself is part of the overall system, i.e. a deep integration of sensing into the mobile radio system is aimed at, in contrast to other approaches where the sensing functionality is realized by separate systems (such as automotive radar) and the mobile radio system is only used as a means for data communication between the external sensors.
To integrate sensing into 6G systems, cellular systems need to be enhanced in two directions: The first is the further development of mobile radio systems in terms of their ability to distribute information between two or more points efficiently and according to certain specifications. The second, at least equally important functionality - and core element of this project outline - is the ability to digitally capture the above-mentioned physical systems with respect to their properties in real time. As an example, the presence, position, orientation and motion vector of a drone in the observed airspace or of a robot in a production environment. In addition to the implementation of the use cases mentioned above, the digital capture of the environment also gives the mobile system the opportunity to improve its own performance.
