An Integrated and Sustainable Terrestrial/Non-Terrestrial Ecosystem for Anytime/Anywhere 6G Connectivity – INFINITE

Funding details and duration of the project

Funder: Project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3 – Cascade Call related to the Program “RESearch and innovation on future Telecommunications systems and networks, to make Italy more smart – Spoke 2” funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU

Award Number: Cascade Call related to the Program “RESearch and innovation on future Telecommunications systems and networks, to make Italy more smart – Spoke 2” codice progetto PE00000001, CUP D93C22000910001;

Start date: 23/04/2024

End date: 31/12/2025

Total NRRP funding for the whole project: 940.000,00€

Total NRRP funding for Unipr: 287.863,87€

Description of the project

Objectives

The RESTART program aims to shape the evolution of telecommunications in Italy. It focuses on research and innovation related to various communication systems and networks, including high-capacity fixed networks, 5G/6G cellular networks, local area networks, satellite networks, and internet services. RESTART leverages technologies such as distributed cloud computing, artificial intelligence, programmable hardware architectures, integrated optics, and sensor technology. The program is organized into seven missions, including research, concept testing, innovation, education, and open-source solutions. With 32 projects, RESTART involves 25 partners and aims to leave a lasting impact on Italy’s telecommunications sector.

Activities

The project focuses on the following research themes:

Spoke 1 - High-Capacity Fixed Networks
Spoke 2 - 5G/6G Cellular Networks
Spoke 3 - Local Area Networks
Spoke 4 - Satellite Networks
Spoke 5 - Internet and Applications
Spoke 6 - Security and Privacy
Spoke 7 - Artificial Intelligence and Integrated Optics

Role of the University of Parma in the project

The research unit (RU) @ UniPR involved in this project will bring its research and development expertise in the area of physical layer design and evaluation of wireless, and in particular satellite, communication systems. In particular, this RU has a strong expertise in the following techniques:

Iterative and graph-based detection and decoding,
Synchronization
Adaptive demodulation and decoding techniques for channels with unknown parameters (phase and frequency uncertainty, fading, Doppler shift)
Multicarrier systems
Multiple-antenna transmission systems
Multiuser MIMO systems
Information theory

It is foreseen that know-how and concepts developed for the following standards, but not limited to, DVB- S2, DVB-S2X, DVB- RCSNG, 5G, 5G- NTN, will be used. It is expected that synergies with on going and past projects in the field of Terrestrial and Satellite integration for 5G and B5G systems will be exploited.

Departments of the University of Parma involved in the project

Department of Engineering and Architecture

Partners

Università degli Studi di Trento
Università degli Studi di Parma
Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale
Università di Genova
Università di Trieste
Picosats srl

Results of the project

The objectives of the WP in which University of Parma is involved are the following:

Investigation of user-centric cell-Free massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (CF-m-MIMO) architectures in integrated Terrestrial (T) and Non-Terrestrial (NT) Networks
Comparison of OFDM and beyond-OFDM waveforms in CF-m-MIMO architectures
Definition of strategies for the acquisition of channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter, analysis of the effect of CSI aging due to latency
Implementation of a system simulator to demonstrate the main concepts and the advantages coming from CF-m-MIMO architectures.

The aim of this WP is the investigation of CF-m-MIMO architectures suited for integrated T-NT networks. These architectures can enable the exploitation of macro-diversity in scenarios where many space network entities, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), aircrafts, High-Altitude Platforms (HAPs), Geostationary (GEO) and non-GEO satellites, cooperate with conventional terrestrial node to provide ubiquitous wireless connectivity. In such a heterogeneous scenario, a number of technical challenges arise, since the signals of the different nodes arrive at the user terminal (UT) in different epochs and with different Doppler frequencies and phases. Solutions adopted in terrestrial CF-m-MIMO architectures cannot simply be transferred into integrated T/NT networks due to the difficulty of acquiring a reliable CSI at the transmitters. Proper architectures thus need to be designed and investigated, possibly using proper beyond-OFDM waveforms characterized by a higher robustness to high Doppler values typical of these scenarios. Proper strategies for the acquisition of CSI at the transmitters also need to be designed and their robustness to channel aging due to the significant latency of these scenarios, need to be considered. A system simulator to assess the performance and benefits of these architectures will be also implemented.