CENTRIC New Vision Whitepaper is out!

This white paper presents the visionary approach of the CENTRIC project towards developing a sustainable AI-native Air-Interface for 6G networks, aiming to revolutionize wireless communication through user-centric design. By leveraging advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, CENTRIC seeks to revolutionize wireless connectivity by placing users’ communication needs and environmental considerations at the forefront of network stack design. The CENTRIC vision begins with a top-down, modular approach that starts with users’ objectives and application-specific requirements. AI techniques are then employed to tailor-make waveforms, transceivers, signalling, protocols, and resource management procedures to support these requirements, resulting in what we refer to as the user-centric AI Air Interface (AI-AI).

To ensure practical implementation, CENTRIC aims to explore and develop innovative hardware computing substrates with realistic and AI-AI-compatible energy-efficiency properties. This includes novel electronics such as neuromorphic computing and mixed analogue digital platforms, alongside advancements in theory, algorithms, hardware codesign, and training environments based on digital twins. Structured around the following six key objectives, CENTRIC’s research encompasses a comprehensive exploration of AI-driven innovation, addressing critical challenges toward the realization of its 6G AI-AI vision.

1. To develop AI methods for the discovery of novel and efficient waveforms: CENTRIC is pioneering the development of machine learning techniques to discover and optimize tailor-made waveforms, ensuring optimal performance while accommodating user communication needs and environmental constraints.
2. To develop AI methods for the discovery of novel and efficient transceivers: Focusing on large-scale extreme massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) deployments and millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum, CENTRIC designs efficient AI-based transceivers to enhance reliability and throughput in challenging scenarios.
3. To develop AI methods for the discovery of customized lightweight communication protocols: CENTRIC develops lightweight communication protocols that dynamically adapt to changing network conditions and user requirements, ensuring efficient and reliable communication tailored to specific applications.
4. To introduce novel end-to-end hardware co-design solutions for energy-efficient AI-native transceivers: CENTRIC will develop novel end-to-end hardware co-design solutions for energy-efficient AI-native transceivers, optimizing the integration of algorithms and hardware to maximize energy efficiency.
5. To develop training and monitoring environments as enablers for AI-AI deployments: Through digital twins (DT)-based tools and frameworks, CENTRIC enables network designers and operators to train and monitor AI models for real-world deployment, ensuring robustness and effectiveness in diverse operational settings.
6. To validate user-centric AI-AI solutions in a lab setting: CENTRIC will conduct rigorous testing and validation of AI-native air interfaces in lab settings, demonstrating the feasibility and performance benefits of AI-driven solutions for real-world deployment.
7. To demonstrate and disseminate AI-AI concepts: By demonstrating novel AI-AI concepts through laboratory proof-of-concept implementations and disseminating findings to academic, industrial, and commercial communities, CENTRIC fosters collaboration and innovation, driving forward the development of AI-enabled 6G systems.

Through these objectives, CENTRIC aims to advance the state-of-the-art in 6G systems development, laying the groundwork for sustainable, efficient, and human-friendly wireless communications. This white paper provides a comprehensive overview of the key techniques and innovations that CENTRIC considers to be an integral component of its 6G AI-AI vision.