imec is the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. The combination of its widely acclaimed leadership in microchip technology and profound software and ICT expertise is what makes it unique. By leveraging its world-class infrastructure and local and global ecosystem of partners across a multitude of industries, imecs create groundbreaking innovation in application domains such as healthcare, smart cities and mobility, logistics and manufacturing, and energy. As a trusted partner for companies, start-ups, and universities, imec brings together around 6,000 brilliant minds from over 70 nationalities. imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium and has distributed R&D groups at several Flemish universities, in the Netherlands, Taiwan, USA, China, and offices in India and Japan. Contributions to UNITY-6G are made by the imec IDLab R&D group affiliated with Ghent University.
Within UNITY-6G, imec’s focus is on the realization of time-sensitive non-public networks that combine and advance both 3GPP and IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology to tackle challenging use cases within industry 4.0. To do so, imec leverages its unique openwifi platform – a customizable open Wi-Fi design on FPGA – and its time-sensitive networking (TSN) extensions on top. The design will be made O-RAN compliant and aligned with UNITY-6G architecture. TSN enablers that span both domains will be studied, as well as real-time monitoring and management dApps/xApps that operate cross-RAT. imec’s Industrial IoT lab will be used to experimentally validate the project’s research outcomes related to time-sensitive multi-RAT NPNs and showcase the envisioned proof-of-concepts. The lab provides a network composed of beyond 5G infrastructure, master clock switch, several TSN switches, and a multitude of embedded SoC-based software-defined radio platforms to run openwifi TSN, as well as access to compute resources.
UNITY-6G brings the unique opportunity to push further imec’s research on deterministic connected systems and converge its activities on beyond 5G solutions based on 3GPP technology with activities on time-sensitive networking based on the openwifi platform. It fits within imec’s vision that future 6G systems for non-public networks will be composed of multiple radio access technologies and must incorporate novel, specialized enablers to support time-critical applications.
Furthermore, the outcomes of UNITY-6G will allow imec to further strengthen its existing research program on deterministic connected systems, mature its unique xGen/Wi-Fi/TSN testing facility, and realize exploitation of results through new collaborations, partnerships, and its openwifi TSN subscription model.
imec’s participation in UNITY-6G is led by Prof. Jeroen Hoebeke and Prof. Ingrid Moerman, in collaboration with senior researchers Dries Naudts, Dr. Jetmir Haxhibeqiri, Dr. Vasilis Maglogiannis, and Pieter Becue.
The UNITY-6G project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 101192650. 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.
This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).