MultiX

Description:

The MultiX project aims to revolutionize the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) design and operation by developing a pioneering MultiX fusion Perceptive 6G-RAN system (MP6R) that will support an integrated multi-sensor, multi-static, multi-band, and multi-technology paradigm to enable multi-sensorial perception for future 6G sensing applications.

The MP6R builds on top of three innovation pillars:

• MultiX Perception System (MPS) that introduces 3 levels of sensing functions into the RAN stack to support multi-sensor, multi-band, multi-static, and multi-technology Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), following a streamlined functional split architecture to enable a fully flexible ISAC deployment in 6G-RAN and to facilitate vendors to extend their RAN stack to support sensing in a plug & play manner.
• MP6R controller (MP6RC) that extends the RAN control plane functionalities to coordinate and control multi-technology integration (including 3GPP, non-3GPP, and other sensor technologies such as Radar, LiDAR, camera, etc.), while considering new connectivity approaches as well as mobility challenges for sensing and localization services.
• Data Access and Security Hub (DASH) designed as a novel RAN data plane entity that aggregates multi-sensor data of diverse technologies, providing secure data access, processing, storage, and exposure, ensuring data privacy and trustworthiness, and that can be fully distributed throughout the data plane wherever needed in the 6G-RAN.

To fully address the 6G Sustainability goals, MultiX will explore AI’s full potential across all layers of the MP6R and develop an energy efficient AI architecture for adaptive ISAC transmitter/receiver and distributed learning with a novel low power AI engine design.

The proposed MP6R design, and a set of other selected innovations, will be validated and demonstrated in two specific Proof-of-Concepts (PoCs):

1) Multi-layer Network Digital Twin for Industrial Manufacturing.

2) Contact-free eHealth Monitoring at Home Environment.

In addition, MultiX also aims to shape 6G standardization for achieving maximum sustainability and impact by contributing to relevant standard developing organizations (SDOs), including 3GPP, IEEE, ETSI – especially its ISAC Industry Specification Group (ISG), and Open-RAN (O-RAN), to pave the way for adopting the MultiX design and innovations in different SDOs both during and after the lifetime of the project.

Within this project, i2CAT will have a significant role in Work packages WP2 – MultiX Perceptive 6G-RAN system design and WP3 – MultiX energy efficient network perception system. WP2 focuses on designing the MultiX’s view into future 6G architecture, extending current 3GPP and non-3GPP approaches to integrate multi-band, multi-sensor, and multi-technologies for joint communication and sensing applications. A key aspect of this WP is to identify and address the specific needs for new interfaces both in the network elements and devices. WP3 main objectives are to develop a joint signal processing framework to enable communication and sensing including multi-band; to integrate multi-technology RATs in the MultiX perception system, proposing algorithms for synchronization of multi-static systems and fusion of distributed raw sensing data; and to design and validate energy-efficient AI architectures for adaptive, event-based ISAC receivers and distributed learning from multi-static sensing devices.

i2CAT will also contribute to WP1 – Use cases and reference scenarios, WP4 – Integration in PoCs and validation, contributing to both PoCs, and Work package WP5 – Impact creation and standardization, leading T5.1.

Estimated impact:

The project oversees the following impacts:

Scientific:

• Digital twinning of industrial manufacturing environments in multi-domain scenarios will allow unprecedented capabilities to forecast and predict system failures and optimize resource allocation and service reliability.
• More efficient usage of all available RATs in diverse scenarios will allow for cost vs benefits and latency vs Reliability (redundancy) assessments of future 6G network deployments.

Economic:

• Multi-sensor, multi-band, multi-static and multi-RAT systems can unleash novel use cases and scenarios, raising novel business models and opening European SMEs and industry to new market segments.
• More efficient factories of the future, based on multi-layer digital twinning approaches.
• More patient-friendly provision of e-health services to a vast sector of the population.
• Lower cost to deploy new networks or to update existing deployment due to better network planning.

Societal:

• Lower climate impact thanks to the SFF-based neuromorphic chip deployment of perceptive networks.
• Better service delivered to end users of e-health, especially in a stay-at-home scenario.

“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”