From 5G to 6G innovation: the technologies of the future compared

5G and 6G do not expose any documented risk , on the contrary: they are technologies that can greatly improve our lives. Unfortunately, there have been many hoaxes that have tried to give credit to the accusations of the conspirators: among the most recent, the one that claimed that inside the coronavirus vaccine there was a microchip with 5G technology . Or, even more serious, Dr. Cowan's theory, according to which the symptoms of Covid-19 were caused precisely by this technology .

On the contrary, 5G had given a great help in the fight against the pandemic, being used in some Chinese hospitals to ensure more timely interventions even at a distance and speeding up the search for the vaccine against the virus. But if we now know the characteristics of this technology that is becoming common in the latest smartphones, 6G is still a world to discover .

5G and 6G: are there really risks?

Already in a previous article we explained how 5G works , specifying that there are no health risks found and that the technology is safe. If two years ago it still seemed something remote and "unconvincing", now the fifth generation network has become the norm, and all the newest smartphones support it. The accusations and fears of the conspiracy theorists seem to have subsided, or at least returned to being confined only to fanatics and extremists.

5G, which has now joined 4G LTE, will inevitably replace its predecessor over time. In fact, data transmission is faster, safer and more reliable: we are talking about gigabit, with much lower latency than 4G and the possibility of reaching remote areas. The network is also capable of handling many more devices per unit area and ensures near real-time response times . Last but not least, energy consumption drops dramatically.

From 5G to 6G: the sixth generation is preparing (risk free)

And while 5G cells continue to multiply in more and more areas of the world, we are already thinking about the next technology: 6G . In fact, it seems that the network is already entering the early stages of design and development, even if it is not expected before 2030. The timing is in line with previous developments: between the adoption of a mobile network compared to the previous one, every once about ten years. The objectives that have been set are very ambitious, but the first experimental results seem to be on the right track.

The (theoretical) target for the new network, in fact, is a speed of 1 TeraByte per second, 8 thousand times more than 5G. The first tests in the laboratory have reached 30Gps, but the technology is not yet stable enough to be able to support this speed continuously. The need for 6G arises for various reasons . Among the most important is the need to cope with an increase in devices connected to the network: it is estimated that by 2030 there will be about 500 billion devices. Then there is the desire to further reduce the latency of communications, aiming to remain below 100 microseconds (one tenth of the latency of 5G).

Furthermore, as technology evolves, the way in which we approach machines and our coexistence with them will also change. We started seeing this with self-driving cars, the drones used by Amazon to make deliveries, and all the industrial machinery that has become more and more connected and modern. In an increasingly connected, digitized world of machines at the service of mankind, it is essential to guarantee a higher level of performance, both in terms of speed and reliability . Last but not least, consumption will have to be reduced.

6G and artificial intelligence

The 6G White Paper published by Samsung discusses the advantages of the new network and the technological requirements necessary for its large-scale adoption. The presentation explains how fundamental it is to focus on new technologies for communication, especially in view of an ever greater automation of tasks through the extensive use of machines connected to the network.

In order to optimize results, the use of artificial intelligence has increasingly increased in various fields: in the healthcare sector, finance, in production chains and also in wireless communication systems. AI is able to improve delivery times by optimizing routes and using algorithms for precise location determination. In addition to this, it allows to develop specific plans for the reduction of energy consumption and to predict and identify anomalies.

But if the potential of AI increases, the same cannot be said for the technological infrastructure that supports it. The degree of efficiency of a network, considered in every aspect, can place limits on the uses that can be made of artificial intelligence, both in quality and quantity. The future we are looking at is full of innovation, but in order for it to be realized, you must have the right means. The development of 6G began with this vision: to create systems that integrate AI and make the most of it, interconnected with each other. Unlike 5G, therefore, the starting point for the new mobile technology was clear right from the start .

An example of use: Comprehensive AI

In Samsung's vision, reference is made to a “comprehensive” AI, meaning an inclusive system of several sub-systems, capable of optimizing the performance of the entire macro-system. In the case of a mobile network architecture we find 4 different actors that work together in pairs, and ranging from a User Equipment (any device for end-to-end communication) up to the Application Server. AI is implemented both in each entity and in each communication subsystem . Thus, an "ecosystem" of intelligences is obtained which creates a "master". The result is a high optimization of the communication processes, and consequently also of the operations that the system takes care of. All this is possible, however, only thanks to the 6G support, which provides fast, almost real-time, and secure communication.

After the phantom risks of 5G we must also expect those of 6G. The new technology promises to bring a revolution in communications , allowing us to go even beyond the limits of our imagination.

The article From 5G to 6G innovation: the technologies of the future compared comes from Tech CuE | Close-up Engineering .