The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education as part of the “Sovereign. Digital. Connected.” research program on communication systems.
Project duration: October 15, 2022 – December 31, 2025
Website: 6gnext.de
Project Description
6G NeXt aims to develop a scalable, modular, and flexible infrastructure capable of supporting a wide range of use cases for industry and end users, whose requirements exceed those of today’s 5G network in terms of intelligence, performance, and efficiency.
A key focus of the project is the development of a high-performance, high-speed backbone layer that works closely with the underlying network layer via programmable interfaces. This enables computing tasks to be processed locally, in the edge cloud, or in various areas of the central cloud. Computing capacity is allocated according to requirements such as latency, energy consumption, and cost. Additional services and extensions are integrated to optimize today’s common cloud infrastructures.
In the 6G NeXt pioneering project, two particularly demanding applications with different requirements are being developed as examples:
Smart Drones
A novel anti-collision system for aviation, using drones at airports with mixed air traffic as an example. The flight paths of the aircraft are monitored in real time, and collision risks are predicted using algorithms. In the event of a hazard, evasive maneuvers are calculated centrally and—unlike with current solutions—the aircraft are also controlled via 6G. This application requires low latency, synchronization of data streams, and the capability for distributed data processing (split computing).
HOLOCOM (Holographic Communication)
An interactive end-to-end transmission of holographic 3D real-time video with photorealistic content and realistic 3D depth for video conferencing and monitoring/inspection of objects via drones. This application requires high bit rates in both upstream and downstream directions, as well as distributed and intelligent video processing.
Project partners:
- Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Labs Spatial Computing Team
- Fraunhofer FOKUS
- Technical University of Berlin, Department of Mobile Cloud Computing
- Technical University of Ilmenau, Department of Audiovisual Technology (AVT)
- Wildau University of Applied Sciences, Department of Aeronautical Engineering
- SeeReal Technologies
- Volucap (Volumetric Capture)
- German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Intelligent Networks Research Division
- Logic Way
- Schönhagen Airfield
Consortium Coordinator: Mandy Galkow-Schneider (T-Labs, Deutsche Telekom AG)
Project Coordinator for the Technical University of Ilmenau: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Raake, Dr.-Ing. Steve Göring (since June 25)
Project staff: William Menz, M.Sc., Stephan Fremerey, M.Sc.
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