Bold research advances will form the basis of future connections
Addressing these physical and technical limitations will require leaps of innovation, but the promise of applications powered by advanced 6G connectivity motivates creative solutions.
Adaptive technology solutions are an important research area. For example, the 6G network will use nearby devices to help provide the required bandwidth and reduce latency, rather than focusing on optimizing bandwidth for a single device. This 3D signal shaping focuses on combining and processing wireless signals from multiple sources based on their proximity to the end user.
New semiconductor materials will help manage device space requirements as well as handle wider frequency bands. Although it requires complex engineering, a promising approach combines traditional silicon circuits with those made from more exotic compound semiconductors such as indium phosphide. In addition, researchers are looking for ways to change the environment with reconfigurable smart surfaces (“smart surfaces”) that can optimize signal propagation to manipulate signals in real time to provide better bandwidth and lower latency.
Another area of research relies on artificial intelligence to manage networks and optimize communication. Different types of network usage (for example, messaging, gaming, and streaming) create different types of network demand. Instead of requiring engineers to always design for the highest demand levels, AI solutions enable a system to predict that demand based on behavioral patterns.
Nichols sees great potential for networks from advances in artificial intelligence. “Today’s systems are so complex that with lots of leverage to pull to meet different demands,” Nichols says, “most of the decisions about optimization are first-order, such as more sites, updated radios, better mainstream, more efficient data gateways. limited by regulations and restricting certain users.” By contrast, using artificial intelligence to handle optimization offers “a significant opportunity for the transition to autonomous, self-optimizing and self-organizing networks,” he says.
Virtual simulations and digital-twin technology are promising tools that will not only aid 6G innovation, but will be further enabled by 6G once installed. These emerging technologies help companies test their products and systems in a sandbox that simulates real-world conditions, allowing equipment manufacturers and application developers to test concepts in complex environments and create early product prototypes for 6G networks.
While engineers and researchers have proposed innovative solutions, Nichols notes that building 6G networks will require consensus among technology providers, operators and carriers. As 5G networks continue to roll out, industry players must forge a cohesive vision of what applications the next-generation network will support and how their technologies will work together.
However, it is this collaboration and complexity that can produce the most exciting and lasting results. Nichols states that the breadth of engineering expertise needed to build 6G and the industry collaboration needed to launch it will foster exciting interdisciplinary innovation. In the words of Nichols, the road to 6G will be paved with “an enormous amount of technical research, development and innovation, from electronics to semiconductors, antennas to radio network systems, internet protocols to artificial, due to the emerging demand for new solutions.” intelligence to cybersecurity.”
This content is produced by Insights, the exclusive content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by the editorial staff of MIT Technology Review.
