The issue addressed in the GENESIS project is related with the technological progress in the field of high speed communication. And more specifically, the issue of delivering the hardware adapted to host the beyond 5G and 6G communication protocols.
The global internet traffic is expected to grow by 55% every year until 2030, reaching more than 5.000 exabytes at 1Tb/s . To address such an increase in internet traffic volume, the wireless network infrastructure is should also become progressively smarter encompassing sensing, localization, low-latency, and ultra-reliable communications. However, today current telecommunication (TLC) infrastructures are facing an impossible challenge: indeed, the limitation of current technology is due to the speed of current generation TLC networks and the huge amount of data processed at network nodes. The key features expected for the 5th and 6th generation communication networks require ultra-high throughput and ultra-low latency, assuming the capacity to deal locally and externally with 1 Tb/s bitrate. While the improved transmission bitrate will be granted using microwave or terahertz radio frequency signals, data sorting is expected to become a bottleneck. In fact, not only the data volume is expected to grow, but the use of shorter wavelengths will require a larger number of antennas and/or more powerful antennas (since shorter wavelengths have shorter propagation distance). Indeed, an increase of number of antennas required from the global TLC infrastructure is expected to increase by at least an order of magnitude with respect to the current Long-Term Evolution LTE technology . The number of network nodes is therefore going to increase consequently. The current CMOS-based electronics, on which the main part of current infrastructure is based, will face major problems when tackling these issues, due to its limitations in terms of heat managements, and due the bandwidth upper-bounded by the switching time of the silicon-based transistors. An incremental solution to these problems would be to build larger infrastructures and computers, increasing drastically the number of components. This approach, however, would negatively affect the network infrastructures in terms of: a) an increase in its total costs, b) an increase in its energy consumption and the environmental footprint, due to a higher dissipation of circuits and to a larger cooling power required for their operation, and c) an increase in its physical footprint .
The context of next generation communication protocols is an important aspect of societal life. In fact, according to current outlook, 2030 and beyond, Europe and the world will face the opportunities and challenges of growth and sustainability of tremendous magnitude.
However, currently there is no defined system architecture for the beyond 5G and 6G communication systems and GENESIS project is aimed at contributing by delivering a network switch that is able to perform at required speed with no down times and close to zero signal/energy dispersiom.
In this context, the project partners objective is to actively cooperate with large corporates in the telecommunication and electronics industry, which can become customers or integrators of the solution.
Some examples include Telecom Italia (end user of telecommunications network), STMicroelectronics (switch manufacturer and integrators of electronic components), and CISCO Systems (Network developer). Three main targets to be fulfilled during the Project:
• Stakeholders’ engagement: the ultrafast switch can be developed in three versions: 1) Standalone system, ready to be connected to existing computational units, 2) Integrated electronics, to be embedded in applications like consumer electronics goods and any other where miniaturization is required (but temperature support must be provided by the manufacturer on the entire system), and 3) a market-ready, comprehensive network switch including many switches and all the necessary electronics and cooling system required. To ensure that the development pipeline proceeds in line with the market expectations, D1 will carry out a Stakeholder analysis to validate the system’s functionalities and the main requirements for the integration of the technology in selected application scenarios. The main stakeholders to be involved are OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) which could integrate the solution in various applications, MEMS manufacturers (such as STMicroelectronics), telecommunication companies (such as Telecom Italia) and independent contract manufacturers (as Flex). The information collected will allow us to define the final list of requirements and specifications to finalize the bill of material and estimate the production cost for small and large-scale volumes.
