Cutting-edge research on 6G at TUM

Research

4/12/2024
Reading time 2 min.

With the rollout of the 5G network still ongoing in Germany, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are already conducting fundamental research for the next mobile communications generation. In the 6G Future Lab Bavaria, the team is developing and testing fundamental mechanisms to make communications more efficient, resilient and secure for all segments of society. On Friday the researchers presented a status report following the first three years of the project to Bavarian minister of economic affairs Hubert Aiwanger.

Bavarian Minister of economic affairs Hubert Aiwanger visits the 6G Future Lab Bavaria

It is the goal of 6G Future Lab Bavaria to study the most important fundamentals of the sixth mobile communications generation and make the results available for private-sector development and standardization. The project was launched in May 2021 and involves 12 research chairs at TUM.

Minister of economic affairs and deputy minister president Hubert Aiwanger:
“With the 6G Future Lab located at TUM, we have one of the most important 6G research sites here in Bavaria. 6G will make many high-tech applications possible – from remote surgery to holograms. Rather than waiting for competitors abroad, we are actively developing the latest mobile communications standard here. That is why we launched our Bavarian 6G initiative more than three years ago and provided four million euros in funding to the 6G Future Lab Bavaria.”

Munich as an ideal research location

Wolfgang Kellerer, Chair of Communication Networks and project leader of the Future Lab, said: “The 6G Future Lab Bavaria will not only deliver decisive impetus to the Bavarian economy. It will also position TUM at the forefront of 6G research. Munich is the ideal location for this initiative because the most important IT companies have a research and development center here.” Ongoing cooperation between TUM and some of these companies underscores the economic importance of research.

Focus on people

Whereas 5G focuses rather on communications between machines, 6G is centered around humans. For applications in which a person interacts with a machine, for example with nursing care robots or telesurgery, the interface must be extremely precise and reliable. A fast data connection and maximum security are also essential.

Since the project launch, the researchers have already implemented the first decisive and fundamental 6G technologies. These include the development of digital twins using artificial intelligence (AI), which permit efficient network management and more powerful, resource-conserving communications. Another focus of the project is on the comprehensive security of 6G. Data must be encrypted in a way that will also withstand the power of quantum computers in the future. A specially developed microchip will ensure that this innovative encryption can be implemented in the hardware both in terms of performance and energy efficiency.