5G is here, how far is 6G
How long does it take to download a 1G high-definition movie with a mobile phone through the fastest 5G mobile network?
The answer is about 3 seconds, which is 10 times higher than in the 4G era.
So, what about 6G?
"In the 6G era, you can download hundreds of high-definition movies in one second!" Professor Peng Mugen, executive director of the China Institute of Communications and executive dean of the School of Information and Communication Engineering of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told reporters that the transmission capacity of 6G may be 100 times higher than that of 5G. , The theoretical network speed can reach 1TB per second, and the network delay can also be reduced from milliseconds to microseconds.
"In addition to being faster, the 6G network will also realize the interoperability of ground and satellite communication networks, and the applications will be more intelligent." Professor Qiao Jianyong, vice chairman of the China Institute of Communications and president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told reporters that 6G technology is the integration of communication, perception, and computing. With the large-scale commercialization of 5G mobile communication technology, many countries including China, the United States, Germany, Japan, South Korea and other countries have initiated research and exploration of 6G communication technology. At present, my country’s 6G technology research and development is at the forefront of the world , Scale tests and typical application demonstrations may be carried out before the end of 2024 at the earliest.
6G is a high-speed intelligent network that can achieve global coverage
Why develop 6G technology?
"5G is difficult to cover all the land, and the land only accounts for 29% of the earth, so the 5G network needs to be supplemented by 6G satellite communication. 6G technology is a combination of terrestrial wireless communication technology and satellite mobile communication technology in high and low orbits and short-distance direct Communication technologies are integrated to solve communication, computing, navigation, perception and other issues, to form a mobile communication network covering air, space, earth, and sea, to achieve a high-speed intelligent network with global coverage." said Li Deren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering In the future, 6G can achieve full global coverage, and realize the intelligent services of satellite communication "one satellite with multiple functions", "multi-satellite networking" and "multi-network integration".
Qiao Jianyong introduced that 6G will be a ubiquitous communication network. The communication network will evolve towards a native intelligent network. The traditional network architecture for personal communication is no longer applicable. It is necessary to redesign the architecture of the integration of communication, perception, and computing. Application scenarios include various forms such as the Internet of Things, drone networks, satellite communication networks, and dense cellular networks.
"From 1G to 5G, the previous communication technologies were mostly centered on base stations and network equipment, while 6G will break through the single dimension of traditional communication and carry out in-depth integration of communication, computing, perception, and energy to better meet future smart applications." Qiao Jianyong said that in recent years, emerging intelligent applications such as smart transportation, drones, meta-universe, immersive expansion augmented/virtual reality (XR), and high-precision industrial Internet have continued to evolve and develop. 5G networks have been unable to efficiently support many intelligent applications. So scientists are now vigorously developing 6G networks.
6G will show its talents in areas such as autonomous driving and meta-universe
Peng Mugen introduced that 6G has a wide range of applications and can solve current bottlenecks in many fields, such as autonomous driving.
"At present, the perception ability of smart cars mainly relies on a variety of local sensors, including cameras, millimeter-wave radar, GPS, lidar, etc. Although the overall accuracy reaches centimeter-level or even millimeter-level, it still cannot meet the needs of autonomous driving because of the limited sensing range. And the perception accuracy is insufficient, and the response ability to respond to emergencies is insufficient.” Peng Mugen said that in the future, the 6G network can smoothly solve the current bottleneck problems that restrict the development of unmanned driving and intelligent vehicle networking.
"The popular meta-universe needs 6G technology to support it." Peng Mugen said that the perception of the virtual world now mainly relies on cameras, photodiodes, time-of-flight sensors, inertial sensors, and handles. Display devices rely on head-mounted displays. Or holographic glasses, whose experience is far from deep immersion. In the future, 6G will be able to provide real-time interaction, huge capacity, and full-element perception for Metaverse, allowing users to "be on the spot."
Qiao Jianyong introduced that in early 2019, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications gathered multidisciplinary researchers in information and communication engineering, system science, mathematics, physics, materials, biology, etc., and formed a number of 6G-oriented R&D teams. Theoretical breakthroughs were the driving force, and several scientific research projects were launched.
my country's 6G large-scale trials may appear as early as 2024
From 5G to 6G, what are the current technical challenges?
According to Qiao Jianyong, 6G is a complex intelligent network system. The challenges facing the current technology system include at least high dynamic changes in transmission links, complex temporal and spatial behavior of the network, and air-space-earth-sea integrated networking. Some disruptive materials and technologies are urgently needed. breakthrough.
Qiao Jianyong said that because 6G networks are faster and more intelligent, the information transmitted, the equipment used, and the communication process are very complicated. The basic theory should focus on the integration of system theory, information theory, cybernetics, and game theory, communication, computing, and perception. The integrated intelligent network, as well as the construction of the air-space-earth-sea integrated network, all require disruptive innovations in information theory and practice, which means that 6G technology needs to achieve the subversion of basic theory, system architecture, and key technologies.
Qiao Jianyong introduced that 6G is the inevitable evolution direction of 5G. It is necessary to establish a communication network with intelligent interconnection of humans, machines and objects, and efficient intercommunication, to realize integrated multi-dimensional data collaborative processing to improve perception accuracy and perception distance. These are the future information communication theory and The global commanding heights of technology, although the international large-scale commercialization of 6G is planned to be realized around 2030, in view of my country's emphasis on 6G and technological innovation capabilities, 6G scale trials and typical application demonstrations may be carried out before the end of 2024 at the earliest.
"After 6G commercialization, it will bring more intelligent applications, and the market scale will far exceed 5G, helping my country's new infrastructure, digital industrialization, and industrial digitalization strategies to land." Peng Mugen said that 6G can not only bring more personal experience to users The ultimate immersive experience meets the communication needs of humans at multiple sensory, emotional and consciousness levels. It can also be widely used in entertainment life, medical health, industrial production and other fields to help the digital transformation and upgrading of various industries in my country to meet the future intelligent society Various application requirements.
(Our reporter Yuan Yufei)