Viavi shares milestones in 6G, AI research based on 6G Forward Program

Viavi Solutions shared milestones in 6G and AI research based on the company’s 6G Forward Program. As 6G is the first AI-native generation of wireless communications, data sources such as a 6G city-scale digital twin will be vital for training other elements of the network such as the 6G AI-Native Air Interface. In 2022, VIAVI announced support for research at the Institute for Wireless Internet of Things and the Open6G cooperative research center at Northeastern University, as part of the VIAVI 6G Forward Program. A key aspect of the research was large-scale RF propagation channel modeling based on AI and ML technologies to develop a city-scale digital twin of a 6G network. The digital twin research has expanded to include: Use of AI/ML to augment ray tracing for radio frequency propagation modeling to drive the digital twin Conducting real-world measurement campaigns in the Northeastern Boston campus using the VIAVI Ranger rugged RF capture and playback instrument Incorporating higher-layer KPIs in the digital twin, to more effectively model effects of network conditions on application performance. The AI-Native Air Interface has appeared as a shift in the conventional methods of developing, standardizing, and commercializing communication technologies with the goal of effectively supplying data to applications while addressing communication problems and hardware limitations. In the physical layer of wireless communications, the neural receiver concept suggests replacing traditional signal processing blocks with trained AI models. To enable comprehensive testing of neural receivers, VIAVI has developed and demonstrated its own receiver as part of an end-to-end test and training environment.