RADIO TECHNOLOGY ENABLERS FOR 6G POSITIONING - EXPRO+

ObjectivesTo study and demonstrate novel non-conventional positioning technologies for future 6G cellular systemsDescriptionThebenefit of 5G technology for positioning is widely recognized. The 5G technology brought wide signal bandwidths and use of antenna arrays with large number of elements, known as massive multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO).The future 6G cellular systems promise even wider signal bandwidths and much larger antenna arrays, also called ultra-massive MIMO. For instance, the 6G nodes will generate narrow pencil-like beams in mm-wave or Terahertz (THz) bands, enabling non-conventional PNT approaches, such as environment mapping, channel charting, and massive digital twinning. Relevant environments include both indoors and outdoors, where a high density of nodesis expected, for example, in support of industrial indoor positioning or positioning for large events. A challenge for positioning will be the mutual interference brought by the increased number of nodes. This will require appropriate mitigation techniques, such as robust waveforms and resource allocation methods.The activity will study and demonstrate enabling technologies/algorithms for non-conventional PNT approaches (e.g. environmental mapping, channel charting, etc.) in future 6G cellular systems, considering relevant environments and mitigation of mutual interference caused by a large number of nodes.This activity encompasses the following tasks:- Review of the state-of-the-art relevant for the activity, focusing on the non-conventional PNT approaches;- Definition, investigation and benchmarking of the performance of different enabling technologies/algorithms for non-conventional PNT approaches with 6G systems in relevant environments;- Evaluation and characterization of the performance of the identified technologies/algorithms with relevant set of scenarios and simulation means.DeliverablesReport