Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DETERMINISTIC6G (DETERMINISTIC E2E COMMUNICATION WITH 6G)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-09-30
The ongoing digital transformation is rapidly reshaping industries and society, ushering in applications with unique communication and computational demands. From smart manufacturing and Extended Reality (XR) to wearable exoskeletons, this digital evolution is steering us towards a Cyber-Physical Continuum. In this realm, dependable, time-critical communications are vital for bridging the digital and physical worlds. The advent of 6G networks presents an unparalleled opportunity to lay the groundwork for an infrastructure that meets the exhaustive demands of these varied applications across multiple computational and communicative domains.
However, the diverse nature of current communication and compute technologies introduces significant challenges in creating a cohesive digital infrastructure; the handling of deterministic versus stochastic performance, is inadequately addressed by current integration approaches in 5G/5G-Advanced.
In this context, DETERMINISTIC6G emerged as a pioneering initiative aimed to define the architecture and conceptual paradigms of an integrated 6G ecosystem, focusing on dependability characteristics through visionary 6G use cases. The project set out to enhance 6G capabilities through innovative solutions for packet delay correction, AI/ML-driven latency characterization, and resource allocation strategies to mitigate the stochastic characteristics of 6G systems. Another ambition was to focus on the wireless-friendly enhancements of legacy deterministic communications (IEEE TSN, IETF DetNet), making them compatible with 6G's wireless nature. Further focus areas were edge computing services, security framework, and the digital twinning of 6G systems in order to cover all relevant aspects of end-to-end (E2E) dependable communication. Beyond the conceptual developments, DETERMINISTIC6G aimed to develop a simulation framework to validate proposed solutions across various deployment scenarios.
However, the diverse nature of current communication and compute technologies introduces significant challenges in creating a cohesive digital infrastructure; the handling of deterministic versus stochastic performance, is inadequately addressed by current integration approaches in 5G/5G-Advanced.
In this context, DETERMINISTIC6G emerged as a pioneering initiative aimed to define the architecture and conceptual paradigms of an integrated 6G ecosystem, focusing on dependability characteristics through visionary 6G use cases. The project set out to enhance 6G capabilities through innovative solutions for packet delay correction, AI/ML-driven latency characterization, and resource allocation strategies to mitigate the stochastic characteristics of 6G systems. Another ambition was to focus on the wireless-friendly enhancements of legacy deterministic communications (IEEE TSN, IETF DetNet), making them compatible with 6G's wireless nature. Further focus areas were edge computing services, security framework, and the digital twinning of 6G systems in order to cover all relevant aspects of end-to-end (E2E) dependable communication. Beyond the conceptual developments, DETERMINISTIC6G aimed to develop a simulation framework to validate proposed solutions across various deployment scenarios.
At the outset, the project's focus has been on exploring cutting-edge use cases. Therefore, Extended Reality (XR), industrial exoskeletons, adaptive manufacturing, and smart farming were selected due to their stringent demands for time-critical communication systems. Clear requirements, and in particular adaptation opportunities, were identified regarding the selected use cases. The in-depth analysis of these use cases extended beyond the examination of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)—like packet delay and its variations—to include Key Value Indicators (KVIs), covering socio-economic benefits ensuring the 6G development is in harmony with wider societal goals.
Based on these insights, the technical work was carried out in DETERMINISTIC6G. In advancing 6G system capabilities, an analysis of packet delay and variation revealed a significant gap in Packet Delay Variation (PDV) between current 5G/5G-Advanced systems and wired TSN bridges. To address this, DETERMINISTIC6G introduced three innovative Packet Delay Correction (PDC) mechanisms to adjust the latency of packets in future 6G networks.
From a fundamental perspective, the project devised a theoretical framework to quantify predictability-a key feature in upcoming 6G system. Based on this framework, essential system design choices were evaluated to enhance predictability. On the practical side, the project devised various approaches to latency prediction using data-driven methods and data from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) 5G networks as well as OpenAirInterface (OAI) platforms. Furthermore, Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) were augmented with extreme-value theory to accurately depict both bulk and tail regions of latency distributions, which is pivotal for underpinning time-sensitive communications, while temporal learning architectures like LSTMs and transformers for latency prediction were also explored. Overall, the results highlight the potential of probabilistic latency prediction in future systems.
The project also devised and explored various time synchronization architectures focusing on redundancy in clock sources. Additionally, in the security dimensions of time synchronization potential vulnerabilities were identified, and mitigation strategies were formulated.
In advancing 6G-enabled, converged deterministic communication systems, the project focused on developing the key enablers for seamless end-to-end integration across time-critical communication technologies (6G, TSN, DetNet) and compute domain (like edge computing). The project pinpointed existing gaps within various standardization efforts for both wired and wireless dependable communications, setting the stage for potential advancements. Furthermore, a novel approach has been devised to facilitate wireless-friendly E2E scheduling, by enhancing the robustness of time-driven scheduling in wireless systems. To address the integration with edge computing, a traffic-handling framework has been proposed to ensure coordinated traffic handling between cloudified applications and communication networks.
DETERMINISTIC6G has achieved notable strides in concept validation: The simulation framework was enhanced a data-driven model of 6G DetCom nodes, based on real measurements and a latency measurement framework was implemented within an OpenAirInterface-based 5G system, facilitating granular latency analyses.
Finally, the project developed a 6G architecture capable of continuously monitoring and predicting system behavior and aligning it with application requirements, providing a comprehensive end-to-end architecture for reliable, time-critical services.
Based on these insights, the technical work was carried out in DETERMINISTIC6G. In advancing 6G system capabilities, an analysis of packet delay and variation revealed a significant gap in Packet Delay Variation (PDV) between current 5G/5G-Advanced systems and wired TSN bridges. To address this, DETERMINISTIC6G introduced three innovative Packet Delay Correction (PDC) mechanisms to adjust the latency of packets in future 6G networks.
From a fundamental perspective, the project devised a theoretical framework to quantify predictability-a key feature in upcoming 6G system. Based on this framework, essential system design choices were evaluated to enhance predictability. On the practical side, the project devised various approaches to latency prediction using data-driven methods and data from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) 5G networks as well as OpenAirInterface (OAI) platforms. Furthermore, Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) were augmented with extreme-value theory to accurately depict both bulk and tail regions of latency distributions, which is pivotal for underpinning time-sensitive communications, while temporal learning architectures like LSTMs and transformers for latency prediction were also explored. Overall, the results highlight the potential of probabilistic latency prediction in future systems.
The project also devised and explored various time synchronization architectures focusing on redundancy in clock sources. Additionally, in the security dimensions of time synchronization potential vulnerabilities were identified, and mitigation strategies were formulated.
In advancing 6G-enabled, converged deterministic communication systems, the project focused on developing the key enablers for seamless end-to-end integration across time-critical communication technologies (6G, TSN, DetNet) and compute domain (like edge computing). The project pinpointed existing gaps within various standardization efforts for both wired and wireless dependable communications, setting the stage for potential advancements. Furthermore, a novel approach has been devised to facilitate wireless-friendly E2E scheduling, by enhancing the robustness of time-driven scheduling in wireless systems. To address the integration with edge computing, a traffic-handling framework has been proposed to ensure coordinated traffic handling between cloudified applications and communication networks.
DETERMINISTIC6G has achieved notable strides in concept validation: The simulation framework was enhanced a data-driven model of 6G DetCom nodes, based on real measurements and a latency measurement framework was implemented within an OpenAirInterface-based 5G system, facilitating granular latency analyses.
Finally, the project developed a 6G architecture capable of continuously monitoring and predicting system behavior and aligning it with application requirements, providing a comprehensive end-to-end architecture for reliable, time-critical services.
The DETERMINISTIC6G project has been pioneering innovations by tackling three broad technical challenges:
- Regarding the architectural aspects for enhanced E2E dependable, time-critical communications, DETERMINISTIC6G has laid down guiding principles for 6G architecture. The architectural aspects were particularly influenced by the collaboration constellation with IT and OT partners all contributing. Due to the architectural insights from the project, impact creation has been most importantly focusing at standardization where DETERMINISTIC6G has been contributing substantially.
- Regrading the awareness for providing E2E deterministic performance, a standout achievement is the development of advanced PDC mechanisms designed to mitigate Packet Delay Variation within future 6G networks—marking a significant advancement over current 5G technologies. Additionally, sophisticated latency prediction models using Mixture Density Networks (MDNs), enhanced with extreme-value theory, have been introduced for predicting real wireless network latencies. The exploration of resilient time synchronization architectures further underscores the project’s commitment to enhancing end-to-end time awareness. Here, the major focus has been on scientific publications to warrant impact.
- Finally, regarding to improve anticipation for the assurance and control of performance guarantees a pivotal result is the creation of preliminary wireless-friendly end-to-end scheduling algorithms. The project has furthermore outlined fundamental principles for dependable communication and control, including precise time-critical service specifications, monitoring and forecasting of system capabilities, maintaining service delivery status, and providing feedback to applications. In this area, the project mixed standardization activities with scientific publications to ensure impact.
- Regarding the architectural aspects for enhanced E2E dependable, time-critical communications, DETERMINISTIC6G has laid down guiding principles for 6G architecture. The architectural aspects were particularly influenced by the collaboration constellation with IT and OT partners all contributing. Due to the architectural insights from the project, impact creation has been most importantly focusing at standardization where DETERMINISTIC6G has been contributing substantially.
- Regrading the awareness for providing E2E deterministic performance, a standout achievement is the development of advanced PDC mechanisms designed to mitigate Packet Delay Variation within future 6G networks—marking a significant advancement over current 5G technologies. Additionally, sophisticated latency prediction models using Mixture Density Networks (MDNs), enhanced with extreme-value theory, have been introduced for predicting real wireless network latencies. The exploration of resilient time synchronization architectures further underscores the project’s commitment to enhancing end-to-end time awareness. Here, the major focus has been on scientific publications to warrant impact.
- Finally, regarding to improve anticipation for the assurance and control of performance guarantees a pivotal result is the creation of preliminary wireless-friendly end-to-end scheduling algorithms. The project has furthermore outlined fundamental principles for dependable communication and control, including precise time-critical service specifications, monitoring and forecasting of system capabilities, maintaining service delivery status, and providing feedback to applications. In this area, the project mixed standardization activities with scientific publications to ensure impact.