vivo Communications Research Institute has unveiled its latest 6G research achievements at the company’s “Approaching the 6G Era” conference. The Institute released three whitepapers, “Convergence of AI and Communication,” “Technologies of Integrated Sensing and Communication,” and “6G Network Architecture” The event marked the debut of multiple prototypes built by vivo using technologies identified as key to the next-generation mobile communication standard, offering a peek into how 6G could shape the consumer experience and lifestyles.
Since 2020, vivo Communications Research Institute has been actively conducting extensive research on 6G, as outlined in its three previously released whitepapers: “Digital Life 2030+,” “6G Vision, Requirements and Challenges,” and “6G Services, Capabilities and Enabling Technologies.”
“At vivo, we believe that technology should serve our consumers and enrich their lives in meaningful ways. This philosophy drives us to explore new avenues from a consumer-first perspective,” said Qin Fei, President of vivo Communications Research Institute. “Reflecting this idea, the series of whitepapers we have launched explore concepts and key technologies, we believe will help shape the 6G user experience, including AI and sensing technologies, as well as network architecture that natively supports the convergence of mobile communications and computing to make 6G possible.”
Convergence of AI and Communication
Communication systems are evolving to meet demands for higher throughput, lower latency, higher reliability, and a larger number of connections. To that end, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been identified as one of the fundamental technologies for 6G, with the potential to offer remarkable solutions.
“AI can help solve multiple 6G communication system challenges, support the advancement of communication technology, enhance signal transmission, and optimize network connectivity, thereby offering our consumers more stable and smoother network connections, anytime and anywhere,” said Sun Peng, Director of Transmission Technology at vivo Communications Research Institute.
Given the key role AI could play in the 6G user experience, vivo’s research was conducted from a device manufacturer’s perspective. The vivo Communications Research Institute put forward a few system design principles, including unified lifecycle management (LCM) based on logical nodes that would lay the ground for establishing a future-proof, efficient and elegant protocol architecture. Furthermore, Peng also unveiled a vivo-designed distributed AI 6G system that will be key to ensuring data privacy and security.
Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)
The integration of sensing and communication technologies in 6G is expected to play an important role in many scenarios, such as industrial automation, smart healthcare, smart transportation, warehousing, and logistics, and more. Jiang Dajie, 6G Director at vivo Communications Research Institute, introduced vivo’s position on the key ISAC technologies, including waveform and signal design, multi-band collaborative sensing, multi-antenna ISAC systems, Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) for ISAC, link adaptation, mobility management for ISAC, and methods of eliminating sensing non-ideal factors.
vivo also debuted three ISAC prototypes, which are based on different sensing modes, including Base Station (BS) monostatic sensing, BS-to-UE bistatic sensing, and CoMP based sensing. The prototypes provide an intuitive display of ISAC scenarios, such as positioning and speed measurement, trajectory tracking, and respiration monitoring.
“ISAC technology will impact how people interact with the digital world and could play a crucial role in various scenarios such as healthcare, intelligent transportation and industrial automation. The 6G system, empowered by sensing capabilities, will boost convenience for consumers in the future,” said Jiang Dajie.
6G Network Architecture
The design of the 6G network architecture is vital for effectively integrating communication, AI and sensing technologies to meet the anticipated 6G service requirements. At the event, Yuan Yannan, vivo 6G specialist, shared vivo’s 6G network architecture design principles and provided an overview of the overall system architecture and key technologies.
“There are three main design principles for the 6G network architecture: Keeping the advantages of 5G, meeting new 6G requirements, and enhancing basic capabilities. Guided by these principles, the 6G network architecture will natively support features like AI and ISAC, providing users with multidimensional services that go beyond communication, delivering a superior user experience,” said Yuan Yannan.
vivo believes massive new opportunities unlocked in the 6G era by a series of key technologies, such as AI enabled Network, Almost-zero Power IoT, 6G-Satellite Integrated Network, and the convergence of mobile networks and computing. With the emergence of several cutting-edge technologies, mobile users will be able to push beyond their hardware limitations to play high-quality online games, engage with 3D virtual humans, and experience XR anywhere, anytime.
6G has expected to usher in the future with extraordinary opportunities for the communications industry and our consumers. vivo’s vision for 6G is to build a freely connected physical and digital world and the company strives to turn this vision into reality by working with industry partners around the world.
The three whitepapers are available for download here:
Convergence of AI and Communication
Technologies of Integrated Sensing and Communication
