• Germany’s 6G NeXt project has concluded
• It was headed up by Deutsche Telekom
• An anti-collision system for aviation was among its feasibility studies

The 6G NeXt (Native Extensions for XR Technologies) research project, which was launched in late 2022 under the leadership of Deutsche Telekom and funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, has concluded after three years. The project explored “next-generation architectural concepts for 6G networks” with a focus on “a scalable, modular and flexible infrastructure designed to support future requirements for extremely high speeds in process/data processing”. 

Among the feasibility studies concluded by the project was one for an anti-collision system for aviation, “an innovative safety system that enables drones to operate safely in mixed airspace, such as those surrounding airports. This requires extremely low latency, synchronised data streams, and distributed (split) computing,” noted Deutsche Telekom in this announcement (in German). 

Other studies focused on the development of an “event-driven orchestrator that automates the provisioning of cloud and network resources across multiple providers”, and the real-time transmission of “photorealistic, interactive 3D videos with realistic depth perception” that demonstrated the potential of immersive media. 

Peter Ledl, head of T-Labs at Deutsche Telekom, stated: “During the 6G research phase, it is crucial to drive cross-sector collaboration among multiple stakeholders. This ensures the broadest possible participation in the innovation potential of 6G. The architecture concepts, demonstrators and scientific results of the 6G NeXt project will help inform future initiatives in Germany and contribute to the development of a 6G ecosystem.”

Other project consortium members included the German Research Center for Information Technology (DFKI), Fraunhofer FOKUS, Logic Way GmbH, TH Wildau, TU Berlin, TU Ilmenau, Volucap GmbH, and Flugplatzgesellschaft Schönhagen mbH.

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV