6G-SANDBOX key objective is to provide an experimental facility for the SNS-JU program. Four experimental facilities have been defined across Europe (Athens, Berlin, Malaga, and Oulu) with different technologies and functionalities leveraging pre-existent work. 6G-SANDBOX project introduces the concept of Trial Networks, which refers to fully configurable, manageable, and controllable end-to-end networks (including slicing capabilities) that combine digital and physical nodes to validate new technologies and research advancements towards 6G. The validation capabilities provided by the 6G-SANDBOX Trial Networks are extensible in terms of the technologies and the components they incorporate, and flexible in terms of the experimentation processing and the target metrics. To exemplify, a meaningful set of technologies and research advancements are targeted during the project lifetime such as internet of sense, JCAS, RIS, low latency networks, NTN, Digital Twin, network automation, CAPIF to name a few.
The overall three year project is divided into two working period, Period 1 (P1) from January 2023 to June 2024 and Period 2 (P2) from July 2024 to December 2025. 6G-SANDBOX has defined six objectives for the project duration as follows:
Objective 1: Define and release the architecture and the processes/methodology of an experimentation facility, that will be aligned with the related standardization efforts and will support network and technology evolution towards 6G, by providing modular implementation capabilities, open access, reusability of results and components, innovation at all the layers and domains of the service provisioning chain, and sustainability beyond the project lifetime.
Objective 2: Develop and integrate the 6G-SANDBOX ORAN-driven end-to-end physical connectivity infrastructure around Europe, which incorporates 6G technologies that reside at access domain, including disruptive wireless communications, transport network advancements, and core network innovations.
Objective 3: Develop and integrate the 6G-SANDBOX resource management framework that is capable to efficiently deploy trial networks and to control multi-domain vitalized resources, by following an “Infrastructure as a Code” approach where all 6G software components are openly released.
Objective 4: Develop and integrate an automated and API-based experimentation lifecycle framework for performing automated experimentation as a service on 6G-SANDBOX trial networks tailored to the 6G KPIs and KVIs, being capable to efficiently produce and release of reliable analytical results (values of those KPIs and KVIs) for evaluating 6G use cases in easily reusable common formats.
Objective 5: Create an ecosystem under the SNS-JU umbrella, that will allow the adoption of innovative components from Stream B projects and also enable the hosting of 6G use cases, through open calls, during the project lifetime, and through the offering from Stream D projects, in the long-term.
Objective 6: Create a tangible socio-economic impact as well as maximize technological and business potential through targeted communication, dissemination, and standardization initiatives that will set capacity building capabilities.
