Scientists:	Manuel Simon, M.Sc., Eric Hauser, Sebastian Gallenmüller, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Carle, Henning Stubbe, Kilian Holzinger
Duration:	01.08.2022 – 30.06.2025
Funding:	Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Motivation

Innovative communications systems are key technologies for digitization and pave the way for a hyperconnected economy and society. The future mobile communications standard 6G will play an important role in this. Before market launch, which is expected around 2030, numerous technological and social issues still need to be resolved. It is already clear that simplified interaction between people and technology will be central to the development of 6G. Crucial to a functioning, hyperconnected world in which "everything interacts with everything" are powerful, trustworthy and sustainable 6G systems that take into account the European Union's principles of action and values from the ground up. It is therefore important for Germany to drive forward 6G research early and quickly in order to be able to exert a significant influence on the standardization of 6G.

Goals

The goal of the "6G-Access, Network of Networks, Automation & Simplification (6G-ANNA)" project is the development of a holistic design for the sixth generation of mobile communications that includes a closed end-to-end architecture. To this end, the fundamentals of radio access are first investigated, and innovative protocols and signal processing algorithms are designed and implemented. This is followed by the investigation of appropriate network management and orchestration approaches. The goal is to simplify and improve the interaction between humans, technologies and the environment. One contribution is made by new sensors and algorithms for the recognition of human movements. For example, digital twins of complex machines in manufacturing can be precisely mapped to control them remotely. Another focus is the investigation of 6G as a "network of networks" in which - similar to the Internet - different closed networks are flexibly interconnected. Here, the focus is on security aspects and resilience. Overall, flexibility and the reduction of energy consumption while maintaining the performance of the network are important goals in all research work - from individual radio access to the integration of multiple networks.

Innovation & Perspective

The "6G-ANNA" project contributes significantly to the development of technologies that will enable the introduction of 6G. German industry can build up the relevant know-how to deploy future 6G networks in a self-determined manner. Incentives are also being created to increase the production of key components in Germany and Europe. At the same time, it will be ensured that the requirements of Germany's leading industries are incorporated into the 6G standard. This way, 6G technologies will become part of leading technologies in Germany's key industries at an early stage. Overall, the results of the project contribute significantly to technological sovereignty in Germany and Europe.

Additional Information

• 6G-ANNA