MATLAB: Focus on 6G wireless technology—goals and needs

Every wireless standard from 3G to 5G and beyond has been designed with the specific goal of advancing the industry. For example, 4G focused on flexible IP-centric voice, data and video communications, and 5G improves on this foundation. The goal of 6G is to provide more ubiquitous, efficient, and immersive wireless connectivity. Research and development of 6G systems is progressing, and we are beginning to have a clear understanding of the technological advances the wireless industry will experience. Here’s a closer look at enabling technologies that wireless engineers should consider for current and future projects.

6G wireless communications workflows will include artificial intelligence, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), waveform detection, millimeter wave and enhanced RF sensing.

New frequencies, including sub-terahertz communications

The use of new frequencies in the 7-24 GHz range and the sub-terahertz range (greater than 100 GHz) is likely to be part of 6G communication systems. This will enable new spectrum management methods and improve performance in terms of data rates and speeds, increasing network capacity and transmission bandwidth while reducing network interference.

Communication and sensing integration

Future wireless networks will require precise positioning of wireless devices to optimize their transmissions. By introducing new frequencies, wireless networks will be able to provide highly accurate sensing and spatial information about their surrounding physical environment. This is why 6G will use Communications and Sensing Integration (JCAS). This technology integrates the positioning, sensing and communication functions of wireless networks.

The JCAS system can improve the performance of indoor communication scenarios by obtaining and sending more accurate indoor space, range, obstacle and positioning information to the network. According to recent research by Ericsson [1], one of the main advantages of JCAS is that “most of the infrastructure is already in place, with full area coverage of transmit/receive (Tx/Rx) nodes and good interconnection between nodes, which facilitates Multi-Static Aware Mesh”. If sensing capabilities are already integrated into wireless systems, the new frequencies in the sub-terahertz spectrum introduced in 6G could pave the way for wireless engineers to use radar-like technology. However, the challenge in designing a JCAS system is the computational complexity introduced by combining the systems and the resulting contention for available resources, which can slow down or disrupt wireless service.

Reconfigurable smart surfaces

Reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS) are gaining increasing attention in the wireless field due to their ease of deployment, enhanced spectral efficiency, compatibility with current wireless network standards and hardware, and sustainability. RIS is a new type of medium that allows engineers to programmatically and dynamically control the propagation of signals between transmitters and receivers through a series of reflective elements. The ability to actively reflect and control signals coming into surfaces requires wireless engineers to use MIMO wireless systems. While this system improves controllability, it requires additional antennas and narrow beams. Narrow beams present certain challenges because any small mistake in aiming the beam can prevent it from reaching its intended target.

All these types of innovations introduce significant complexity and variability into wireless systems, making the task of designing space exploration very difficult. Wireless engineers building these types of wireless systems often use MATLAB and Simulink to design, model, test, and analyze their designs. Because they can explore new frequency ranges, bandwidths, parameter sets, proportional simulations of MIMO, and higher sampling rates in a consequence-free simulation environment.

Non-terrestrial networks bringing wireless connectivity

One of the key technological advancements making connectivity ubiquitous is the emergence of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). NTN refers to any network involving non-terrestrial objects, including low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Wireless engineers are increasingly integrating mobile devices into hybrid terrestrial and non-terrestrial 5G mobile infrastructure to serve enterprises and consumers. Apple's emergency SOS function [2] is the most famous application. The value of NTNs is that they can build global wireless networks without relying on cell towers, especially in places where construction costs are prohibitive.

Artificial intelligence is crucial to 6G systems

The increasing complexity of 6G networks necessitates the use of artificial intelligence. Because it’s no longer practical to rely on people alone to keep up with the faster speeds and higher complexity that 6G brings. AI methods can solve nonlinear problems by automatically and efficiently extracting underlying patterns, which is beyond the capabilities of human methods. Engineers can apply artificial intelligence, including machine learning, deep learning or reinforcement learning workflows, to configure, optimize and self-organize 6G wireless communications. Additionally, 6G may support AI-based air interfaces [3] to improve features such as joint compression and coding, beamforming, channel state information (CSI) compression, and positioning. AI can also benefit project management by incorporating simulation environments into algorithmic models by estimating source environment behavior, allowing engineers to quickly study the main effects of a system using minimal computing resources. The great thing about wireless communications is that mathematics and physics are never in dispute. The problem lies in the requirements and technology aspects that make it efficient and feasible. We'll have to wait until 2026 to know which candidate technologies and requirements will be included in 6G standards, but wireless engineers should learn about the coming innovations now. Once the requirements for 6G are determined, wireless engineers who use AI to integrate JCAS, RIS or NTN designs and test these designs through simulation will have a better competitive advantage.

references

[1] https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2021/10/joint-sensing-and-communication-6g

[2] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-satellite-available-today-on-iphone-14-lineup

[3] https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9247527

By Dr. Houman Zarrinkoub, Principal Wireless Product Manager, MathWorks