6G Hardware Enablers for Cell Free Coherent
Communications and Sensing

6G-REFERENCE envisions a future where urban areas are equipped with sustainable solutions
that can cope with the ever-increasing traffic demands and population densification, while
providing disruptive capabilities like the materialization of the internet of sense.

6G-REFERENCE will:

DEVELOP

Develop integrated circuit and antenna component solutions, including dynamic frequency filtering and modulated radiation, to enable efficient spectrum coexistence schemes.

DEVELOP

Develop integrated circuit and antenna component solutions, including dynamic frequency filtering and modulated radiation, to enable efficient spectrum coexistence schemes.

DEPLOY

Deploy practical hardware enablers in terms of low complexity, cost and power consumption that could end up constituting a reference design for future 6G-distributed radios.

DEPLOY

Deploy practical hardware enablers in terms of low complexity, cost and power consumption that could end up constituting a reference design for future 6G-distributed radios.

Objectives

6G-REFERENCE will develop hardware enablers constituting a reference design of distributed
radios for a cell-free communication and sensing system operating in the 10-15 GHz range.

The project targets low complexity and low power, in other words, practical integrated circuits
(IC) and antenna systems for 6G applications. It aims at enabling new functionalities addressing D-MIMO communication scenarios but extended to support distributed sensing and accurate localization and positioning.

Objectives

6G-REFERENCE will develop hardware enablers constituting a reference design of distributed
radios for a cell-free communication and sensing system operating in the 10-15 GHz range.

The project targets low complexity and low power, in other words, practical integrated circuits
(IC) and antenna systems for 6G applications. It aims at enabling new functionalities addressing D-MIMO communication scenarios but extended to support distributed sensing and accurate localization and positioning.

Challenges

Accurate
synchronization
among distributed
radio units (cell-free
deployments)

Fronthaul data distribution

Integration of sensing capabilities

Low complexity/cost/
consumption radios

Coexistence with
other services

Methodology

Explore radio system
operation in the
10-15GHz range

Develop hardware
concepts and show
feasibility in CMOS

Use additive
manufacturing for
antenna arrays and
nanotechnology for
sensors

The 6G-REFERENCE Partners Meet in Person for the Second time in Zurich to Review the Project Status

The 6G-REFERENCE consortium met for two days in Zurich (Switzerland) on the 5th and 6th of November 2024 in the Second 6G-REFERENCE Face-to-Face Meeting, hosted by our partner ETH Zürich, led by Hua Wang, Full Professor and Principal Investigator, to review the project status, about to complete its first year, and to plan the next...

What is 6G-REFERENCE? The EU Project Deploying 6G Sustainable Solutions for Cell Free Coherent Communications and Sensing

The United Nations estimated that 68% of the world population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050.  The vision of 6G-REFERENCE is that cell-free joint communication and sensing systems operating at the 10-15GHz range will play a vital role in future 6G networks, especially in urban scenarios where 6G will need to rely...

Why 6G-REFERENCE is a SNS JU Project Boosting 6G Research in Europe

Why is 6G-REFERENCE part of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU)?  In October 2023, the SNS JU announced its new 27 research, innovation, and trial projects that commenced operations as of 1 January 2024 with a total budget of €130 millions, being 6G-REFERENCE one of these 27 projects, presented in a webinar...

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