Subproject: Research and demonstration of new concepts for information transmission, quantum communication and resilient hardware for terrestrial and satellite-based 6G networks.

Initial Situation

Extremely fast, energy-efficient, fail-safe – and extremely complex: The German government is funding research on the next generation 6G wireless systems. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has now allocated 250 million euros for four 6G research hubs, 67 million of which are for the Open6GHub involving 17 collaborating research institutions. Within this hub, the University of Bremen is involved with a funding of five million euros. This enables leading German researchers from the fields of communications engineering, electrical engineering, and satellite systems to contribute their specialized expertise.

Objective

The "Open 6G Hub" designs a holistic 6G system catered to the requirements of users and society beyond 2030. The hub aims to contribute to a European and global 6G harmonization process that leads to a new mobile communications standard fit to the interest of German industry and society. It should strengthen a competitiveness of European companies and the technological sovereignty. Starting form use case definitions and analysis partners will word on technology components required for the future. Another key research aspect is the incorporation of artificial intelligence technologies developed specifically for communication systems to improve energy efficiency and reliability. The ultimate goal is to make future networks as powerful and efficient as possible.

Research Contribution of the University of Bremen

The University of Bremen is one of the largest research partners in the Open6GHub; the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Kaiserslautern coordinates the project. “Within Open6GHub, we have taken on the ‘Beyond Cellular’ work package, which means moving away from the previous terrestrial cellular network to a three-dimensional wireless network. In the future, connectivity will be established not only through masts on the ground, but also through drones, balloons, airplanes and, most importantly, satellites,” Dekorsy explains. To test the new 6G technologies, an experimental site is being set up at the University of Bremen, for which an operational 6G mini-satellite is also being developed. This experimental site is to be used in the long term for cooperative ventures and as a test site for companies.

The Communication Engineering research group is regarded one of the leading German research groups in modern wireless network systems and has acquired several million euros of funding for different 5G projects. The new Open6GHub research activity is based on this existing knowledge. This is further complemented by the long-standing expertise of ZARM in the field of space technology and ITEM in the field of electrical engineering.

Further Information

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