Main 6G testing research areas
What will constitute the technological backbone of 6G?
The academia and key industry players have identified several research areas for enabling the next generation of wireless communication.
A natural starting point is increasing bandwidth and boosting data throughput to new dimensions using (sub-)THz communication to propel 6G applications such as holographic communication and digital twinning. THz frequencies provide access to wider bandwidths. This opens up the possibility to change the way we will interact with our devices by further improving features like gesture recognition to support extended reality (XR)-based applications, for example the Metaverse.
Compared to previous mobile network generations, 6G will take advantage of joint communication and sensing that will integrate localization, sensing and communication into a future 6G standard.
5G Advanced already starts to pave the way for using artificial intelligence and its subset machine learning for the next generation of wireless communications. These preparations will allow a 6G network to learn at least partially to configure, optimize and heal itself instead of relying solely on complex preplanning procedures. As a next step it is expected that parts of the air interface, in particular signal processing algorithms, are supported and eventually replaced with machine learning models. Thus, a 6G wireless communication standard will natively support an AI-based air interface.
6G research also focuses on reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), a novel way of supporting a wireless communication link by reflecting and actively steering an incoming signal off surfaces using meta materials. Whatever direction the technology is taking, Rohde & Schwarz is firmly in the forefront of 6G research. Early research as well as the arrival of 6G technology will require leading-edge test and measurement solutions to address a multitude of technical challenges. We are committed to overcoming these challenges to ensure an innovative outlook when shaping our wireless future.
