As society and the economy become increasingly digital, the need for universal and uninterrupted network coverage grows. Otherwise, applications such as autonomous and connected driving, digital agriculture, digital logistics, and digital maritime transport would be virtually impossible. The sixth generation of mobile communications (6G) will enable uninterrupted connections through a 3D communication network consisting of terrestrial base stations and non-terrestrial network components, such as aerial platforms and near-Earth satellite constellations. Professor Armin Dekorsy, head of the Department of Communications Engineering at the University of Bremen, is leading the 6G-Coverage project to investigate exactly how this can work.
The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space is funding the three-year project with 5.97 million euros; the total project budget amounts to 9.5 million euros. In addition to the University of Bremen, ten other partners from academia and industry are involved: Bosch, Nokia, NxP, Telefónica, Rohde&Schwarz, MediaMobil Communication, IMST, DLR – German Aerospace Center, the Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS, and RPTU – Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau.
The partners are investigating key 6G network technologies, including connection handoffs, antenna systems, and multi-connections. They are focusing on how vehicles can seamlessly transition between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, how to design high-performance, reliable antenna systems, and how to connect end devices, such as cars, drones, and machines, to different network elements, such as satellites or local radio cells, simultaneously.
These new approaches to connected and automated mobility will first be evaluated in simulations and then examined in real 3D networks with base stations and satellites. The goal is to bring 6G into practical application using commercially available hardware and software components. In this way, the result will be solutions that can be applied to other areas.
Further Information:
https://www.forschung-it-sicherheit-kommunikationssysteme.de/projekte/6g-coverage
(only available in German)
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Armin Dekorsy
Head of the Department of Communications Engineering
Director of the Gauss-Olbers Space Technology Transfer Center
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-62400
Email: dekorsyprotect me ?!ant.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
