Research Facilities 6GEN Generic experimental infrastructure for various areas in 6G Learn more at UNICO I+D 6G Know more The main objective of the 6GEN project is to create a large experimental infrastructure—a unified testbed—to research and develop Advanced 5G and imminent 6G mobile networks. Unlike isolated testing environments, 6GEN merges multiple technologies into a single, interconnected, cutting-edge platform. This laboratory will allow experimentation with innovations that will transform our society, such as Extended Reality (XR), holograms, satellite networks for global coverage (NTN), connected vehicles (V2X), and quantum cybersecurity; all driven by Artificial Intelligence and highly programmable networks. With an open and collaborative spirit, the infrastructure is available to universities, startups, and large companies, even connecting with other European laboratories and deploying in real urban environments. Featured Equipment Mobile terminal emulators (UEs) for massive testing. RIC Tester evaluation equipment. Spectrum analyzers, high-performance oscilloscopes, and energy efficiency meters. Outdoor 5G base stations (n77 band) with remote radio heads. Fronthaul switches with time synchronization, USRP devices (Software Defined Radio), and NTP servers. High-performance servers with CPU and GPU optimized for vRAN workloads. Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) for signal control. Layer 2 switches and Smart NIC cards (100 GbE) programmable via P4 language. Edge and MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing) servers for indoors and outdoors. Satellite radio channel emulator to replicate space-to-ground links. Robotic platforms: rovers with LiDAR technology, quadruped robot, drones, and mini-drone swarms. Key Technologies RAN and O-RAN: Open access networks that function like “Lego pieces,” allowing interoperability between manufacturers and intelligent management through AI. NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks): Connectivity via satellite and drones to ensure global coverage and emergency communications. Cloud Continuum: Distributed data processing close to the user to eliminate latency in critical applications such as virtual reality. V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything): Communication between vehicles, infrastructures, and pedestrians for autonomous and safe driving. IoT (Internet of Things): Massive connection of sensors with battery optimization and millimeter-level localization. Programmable Networks: Software-modifiable infrastructure to create data “fast lanes” and block cyberattacks in real time. XR and Cybersecurity: From 3D holoconferences to AI shields for automatic threat detection.
