ORIGAMI

Description:

ORIGAMI aims at spearheading the next generation of mobile network architecture, overcoming eight factual barriers to ensure a successful 6G future. With three critical architectural innovations – Global Service-based Architecture (GSBA), Zero-Trust Exposure Layer (ZTL), and Compute Continuum Layer (CCL) -, ORIGAMI strives to create global single standards, promote green transition, boost affordability and accessibility, and inspire ground-breaking applications and fresh business models. To assess ORIGAMI’s effectiveness, the project will conduct eight real-world demonstrations across six experimental sites and two large-scale international datasets from two major operators and validate our findings against twelve ambitious KPI targets. The GSBA proposed by ORIGAMI will streamline communication and interoperability across network planes, paving the way for truly global standards. The AI-aided CCL will democratize access to extremely heterogeneous computing resources and will boost resource sharing with reliability guarantees, encouraging green transition, sustainability and greater accessibility. In turn, the ZTL will enable third-party players to securely program their virtual networks in zero-trust arenas, driving innovative high-value applications and creative business models. ORIGAMI’s emphasis on dependable, explainable, and unbiased AI/ML will ensure a reliable system that avoids corner case errors, setting the stage for a more connected, efficient, and sustainable telecommunications future.

Within the project, the i2CAT Foundation participates in different Work Packages and actively participates in Work Page 1 – Project Management & Coordination. The Catalan research centre leads Task 1.4 – Ethics and Data Management, which is devoted to the ethical and data management concerns regarding the design of the information and consent forms that may be used for the involvement of potential human subjects and associated data and/or datasets in the project’s workstreams. Researchers will also ensure compliance and alignment with legal and ethical obligations for the whole project ecosystem, and they will create a data management and ethics handbook.

i2CAT also participates in WP2 – ORIGAMI System Architecture Design. In Task 2.1 – Analysis of system architecture and use cases: barriers, requirements and KPI definition, i2CAT contributes to analysing ORIGAMI’s identified barriers, complements them with other ones that may arise from the interaction with other SNS Stream C and Stream D projects and hence define the requirements that the novel architectural solution shall support.

In WP3—Design of GSBA, ZTL, and CCL solutions, i2CAT researchers participate in Task 3.2 – Design of NI solutions for RAN domains. This task is oriented at designing NI solutions, such as AI/ML models, policies, or control strategies, to address all the barriers identified in the RAN domain, with a focus on reliability, cost efficiency, energy efficiency, and interoperability.

Finally, in WP4 – Development and evaluation of GSBA, ZTL and CCL solutions, i2CAT participates in Task 4.1 Evaluation frameworks and KPI/KVI validation, which includes creating an integrated evaluation framework for ORIGAMI component to facilitate the development of each experimental evaluation specified within the project. The Catalan centre is also involved in Task 4.2 – Development of compute continuum layer solution, oriented at creating a RIC platform, RAN bus API, and several xApps (e.g., radio resource quota optimization and multi-vendor slice admission control). Additionally, it will enable an xApps development framework for providers by gathering 6G RAN measurements through RAN bus.

ORIGAMI’s architectural innovations will be tested in practical use cases to demonstrate their ability to achieve the following goals indicated in the call for 6G systems. Researchers will demonstrate how compute-aware virtualized RAN solutions can build reliable RAN systems that improve cost and energy efficiency compared to today’s industry standards, which are based on dedicated hardware acceleration. ORIGAMI aims at creating affordable and sustainable mobile systems, and to achieve them, researchers will identify new ways of using low-cost green resources while keeping high-quality performance and reliability

Estimated impact:

Science & Technology

• Standard global operation for 6G networks. ORIGAMI will define architectural innovations (GSBA, ZTL, CCL) that will enable a native, streamlined global operation of 6G networks. These innovations will remove practical barriers caused by current cumbersome procedures for international roaming and allow unprecedented capability for third parties (including other MNOs) to control the network resources and operation.
• NI-assisted high-performance virtualization. ORIGAMI will define a new architectural layer (CCL) and its associated AI/ML-driven Network Intelligence (NI) solutions that will jointly achieve low-latency, high-throughput control of the heterogenous compute resources composing the infrastructure of extremely virtualized 6G systems.
• Sustainable 6G network technologies. ORIGAMI will develop technologies that achieve twofold more energy-efficient control of virtualized RAN, and that cut energy usage through dynamic parametrization of Remote Units (RUs) according to demand variations. Impact will also be generated on the design of innovative and robust AI/ML models for mobile network control and management, that are energy-aware.

Economy

• Innovation in network equipment for 6G. Thanks to NI, ORIGAMI will develop solutions that pave the way for developing mobile network products and services, allowing much improved operations in virtualized and global infrastructures.
• Unlocking a zero-trust global IoT market. ORIGAMI’s ZTL empowers third-party actors, including potentially competing MNOs, to program networks in a zero-trust fashion, boosting interoperability and innovative business models.

Society

• High-performance global 6G services. ORIGAMI will develop architectural innovations that natively support digital nomadicity, ensuring that high-performance 6G services are available to traditional ‘localized’ individuals as well as to the increasing fraction of the world population that experiences continued international mobility.
• Pervasive high-end 6G services. ORIGAMI will develop solutions that, among other benefits, also cut the CAPEX and OPEX of 6G networks. Hence, it favours a deployment of truly pervasive technology that can benefit users in rural and remote areas by giving them access to high-end services.

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 or the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking as granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.