EU develops automotive photonic sensing technology to promote next-generation light-enhanced 6G communication system

Recently, the European Union's "Horizon-Europe" plan announced the launch of an ambitious multidisciplinary project-6G-EWOC. The project focuses on developing 6G communication technology to support autonomous driving and brings together 11 partners from 8 European countries.

(Source: 6G-EWOC)

To achieve this, the project will utilize a range of cutting-edge technologies, including precision sensing, optical wireless communications, high-capacity fronthaul connectivity and efficient data center technology. These technologies will be enabled by the powerful combination of photonic integrated circuits and artificial intelligence.

The 6G network is hailed as an enabler of modern digital applications because of its ability to deliver unparalleled data throughput, extremely low transmission latency, and seamless network coverage. These advantages make 6G technology have huge application potential in fields such as autonomous driving.

However, turning these potentials into reality requires practical implementation solutions that are high-performance, compact, and cost-effective. The Horizon-Europe project focuses on reducing the size and cost of sensing, communication and processing technologies while improving application-level performance, particularly in the context of "connected" vehicles.

The core goal of the 6G-EWOC project is to build a fiber-wireless optical 6G network integrated with artificial intelligence technology to support the mobility of connected cars. This will be achieved by combining innovative research with recently developed early prototype communications, sensing and computing systems. This three-year project has been officially launched in January 2024, marking an important step for Europe in leading the development of 6G communication technology.

The core mission of the 6G-EWOC project is to use photonic technology to achieve accurate perception of the surrounding environment by vehicles, use optical wireless communications to build a bridge connecting vehicles and road infrastructure, and seamlessly connect high-capacity optical fibers to data centers for real-time processing. and computing collected roadside data. To improve overall efficiency, the project incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) technology to coordinate and optimize in-vehicle 6G infrastructure.

Antonio Lázaro, professor at UPC Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB) and researcher at the Center for Advanced Broadband Communications (CCABA), will be responsible for the coordination of the 6G-EWOC project. He said: “To enable future cars to achieve smarter autonomous driving, it is necessary to rely on the deep integration of sensing and communication technologies to enhance the vehicle’s perception capabilities and connectivity with modern ICT infrastructure. Through information between networked vehicles, Through the exchange and seamless connection with the data center, the vehicle can obtain a large amount of sensor data, and the data center is responsible for integrating and processing this data in real time."

This concept is called "connected mobility" and it requires strong network support, the ability to handle the massive amounts of information generated, and the full use of a variety of cutting-edge communication and sensing technologies, such as those developed in the 6G-EWOC project. These technologies cover many fields such as integrated laser sensors, wireless optical communications, and optical 6G antennas. Michael Geiselmann, chief commercial officer at LIGENTEC, noted: “Photonics has huge potential for performance improvements, which we demonstrate by introducing a highly miniaturized optical beamformer as an optical antenna.”

High-capacity fiber optic fronthaul will enable seamless transmission of large amounts of data within transportation infrastructure to nearby data centers for real-time processing. Artificial intelligence technology will be responsible for organizing and orchestrating all data flows to ensure smooth transmission to various distributed data centers. In addition, other artificial intelligence tools will integrate vehicle information in each area to build parts of the 3D map and integrate it with the final puzzle generated by distributed computing in each area. With the support of this vehicle infrastructure based on 6G technology, drivers and vehicles will receive detailed and complete maps that are updated in real time, making travel safer.