The future 6G network an important tool for a sustainable world

The work to design 6G is now starting to gain momentum and Chalmers, which is one of the actors in the European project Hexa-X-II, will continue to contribute to creating the basis for the next generation of mobile communication.

Tommy Svensson, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers, and Coordinator of Chalmers' participation in Hexa-X-II, says:

“With 6G, we aim to meet society's needs for a sustainable world, in line with the UN's goals for sustainable development. At Chalmers, we work specially to understand how we can design 6G systems that are sustainable and how 6G can help other sectors to become sustainable by taking advantage of innovative technologies with a focus on decentralised multi-antenna communication, integrated communication and radar/radio sensing and artificial intelligence.”

In addition to Tommy Svensson, who will contribute his knowledge in decentralised multi-antenna communication, there are two more Chalmers professors in Hexa-X-II. Henrikke Baumann at the Department of Technology Management and Economics has expertise in sustainability, as well as Henk Wymeersch at the Department of Electrical Engineering with expertise in localisation and sensing.

“It is good that the 6G development focuses on sustainability right from the start. Our part in the project covers not only the technology's energy efficiency, but also its CO2 emissions and resource use, as well as analyses relating to the environmental benefit of 6G in various areas of use. Our studies are based on life cycle analysis (LCA), which maps energy and material flows for technology systems, says Henrikke Baumann.”

Henk Wymeersch is proud to take the lead on integrated sensing and communication.

“It is one of the cornerstones of 6G. The ability to precisely locate users and objects will not only enable new uses, but also improve communication itself.”

Tommy Svensson's technical assignment involves decentralising multi-antenna communication with intelligent controllable surfaces in dense networks that have co-designed access links to the users and return links up to the core network. This will be controlled by artificial intelligence and radio sensing for better reliability and sustainable resource utilisation.

Three societal challenges that will be researched with 6G:

Sustainability: Hexa-X-II will research technologies that contribute to a zero-carbon footprint and limit energy and material consumption.
Inclusion: Hexa-X-II aims to enable connectivity to people in developing countries as well as to less privileged people in developing societies.
Reliability: Hexa-X-II will ensure data transparency, security and integrity as well as robust network.

From 4G to 6G:

High speed mobile network

4G, fourth generation mobile communication is primarily intended for ultra-broadband internet access. For private individuals, this means faster connection in the mobile phone.

The Internet of Things

5G, fifth generation mobile networks or wireless systems enable gadgets and machines to exchange information with each other. In addition, many devices can be connected at the same time. 5G is also a potential tool for solving major societal challenges in, for example, climate impact, scarce natural resources, food production, care for an aging population and safe working environment.

Internet for social needs and the UN's sustainability goals

6G, the sixth generation mobile communication network is based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. For example, we should be able to be physically be present in the same room even if we are in different rooms and worlds. With 6G, sustainability is the focus, and the goal is that 6G will become a powerful tool to contribute to solving the 17 sustainability goals within ecological sustainability, economic sustainability and societal sustainability defined by the UN.

The Hexa-X-II project started in January 2023 and is expected to last until the summer of 2025.

Facts about Hexa-X-II

On 7 October 2022, the European Commission (EC) announced the creation of Hexa-X-II, the second phase of the EC's flagship 6G initiative.
This new phase will expand the Hexa-X partner list to 44 organisations tasked with creating a common platform and system view, which will underpin many contributions to future 6G standardisation.
The Hexa-X-II project has been awarded funding from the European Commission as part of the first call from the Joint Area in Smart Networks and Services (SNS-JU). This is the next important step towards bringing together key stakeholders in Europe.
The goal of both Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II is for Europe to become a leader in 6G.
Members of Hexa-X-II range from network providers and communications service providers to vertical industries and technology providers, as well as the most prominent European universities and research institutes in mobile communications.