In recent discussions regarding the introduction of 5G, the national importance of technologies for communication and positioning as well as for the development of a European strategy to reduce dependence on US and Chinese companies has become evident. There is already an intense debate about the dominance of future standards such as “6G & Beyond”. Issues such as inter-rack and inter-chip communication, the secure wireless networking of IT infrastructure, future ultra-broadband communication for controlling and monitoring production processes and intralogistics applications as well as man-machine interactions form the focus of the research work, which is strongly based on the 6GEM work.

The joint vision of terahertz.NRW in the field of communication and localization is to research technologies and architectures for networking a large number of mobile THz sensors for medical technology applications and environmental monitoring. Available frequency bands in the THz range with high bandwidth are to be used for communication and localization [JIM/2019]. One focus is on THz technologies and architectures that are suitable for Joint Communication and Sensing (JCS), i.e. for both communication and the recording of sensor data [THO/2021]. In addition to the highest data rates, this enables further outstanding properties such as a finer distance/angle resolution, high-resolution images, localization in the cm/mm range and low latency times for communication in 6G wireless networks. However, the shorter wavelengths and dense antenna placement lead to new challenges, as hardware distortions such as phase errors and mutual coupling have a much greater impact on system performance compared to lower frequencies. terahertz.NRW is therefore researching approaches to compensate for distortions in compact array devices and methods for the most energy-efficient operation possible as well as spectrally efficient modulation methods. In addition to using important hardware components such as intelligent meta-surfaces, machine learning techniques are also beneficial for support. In this context, efficient and fast data acquisition and processing is required, which can be implemented with approaches to real-time-capable compressive sensing and other advanced signal processing methods. This also includes real-time capable compensation of non-linear and linear distortions. Moreover, the availability of high bandwidths and advanced techniques for sharing the frequency spectrum enables 6G wireless networks to serve a large number of end devices simultaneously. To this end, the network is researching innovative approaches to channel setup in access points with direct THz antennas, access procedures and included radar systems for localizing and (self-)synchronizing a large number of sensors and other end devices. The increasing use of THz frequency bands for communication and sensor data collection will of course increase the likelihood of attacks and other unwanted activities such as eavesdropping and intentional jamming. With this in mind, robust, efficient and strong security methods for communication and localization applications in 6G & Beyond networks need to be considered.