By Antonio de la Oliva
Welcome to PREDICT-6G! Today, we will be discussing the PREDICT-6G project, which aims to create a secure, modular, interoperable, and extensible deterministic network and management framework that automates the definition, provisioning, monitoring, fulfillment, and life-cycle management of end-to-end (E2E) deterministic services over multiple network domains.
The PREDICT-6G project is part of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU), which is a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the European ICT industry. The SNS JU selected 35 research, innovation, and trial projects to enable the evolution of 5G ecosystems and promote 6G research in Europe.
The PREDICT-6G project aims to create a deterministic network. PREDICT-6G defines deterministic as predictable, reliable and time sensitive. Network predictability refers to the ability of a network to provide consistent and dependable service with a known level of performance. Network reliability refers to the ability of a network to transfer data without losses in a consistent way. In the context of deterministic networking, predictability and reliability are achieved through clock synchronization, service protection, redundancy, and other mechanisms that ensure guaranteed bandwidth, bounded latency, and other properties germane to the transport of data. Time sensitiveness provides guaranteed bandwidth, bounded latency, and other properties that are important for the transport of time-sensitive data. PREDICT-6G will extend current mechanisms defined in IEEE 802.1 and IETF DetNet/RAW SDOs to provide determinism to the general multi-domain, multi-technology upcoming 6G network.
Currently, the project is focused on determining the key use cases and deriving the KPIs/KVIs to be met by the solutions designed within the project. Use cases for deterministic networking include closed-cycle control loops, automotive and other transportation systems, industrial automation, audio and video streaming, and more. Deterministic networking can support a wide range of applications, each with different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, and can operate in vastly different environments with different scaling. That is reliable, secure, and scalable. The use cases currently identified in the project focus on industrial environments, meta-verse and XR/VR applications.
In summary, the project will develop new technologies and protocols to enable end-to-end deterministic services over multiple network domains. The project will also develop a management framework that automates the provisioning, monitoring, and life-cycle management of these services. The PREDICT-6G project is an important step towards the development of 6G networks, which are expected to emerge in 2030.
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