Correct use of millimeter wave in 5G/6G - through the example of Ookayama 5G/6G demonstration field - (Kei Sakaguchi, Vice President, Tokyo Univ. of Science)
ODAIBA IX Core/Industrial Transformation (IX) Leaders
Leaders Transforming Industrial Technology (No. 4)

Even if speed tests are conducted using commercially available 5G terminals, ultra-high-speed communications of 1 Gbit/s or higher and ultra-low latency communications of 1 ms cannot be achieved. This is because the cloud (server) and upper network are bottlenecks. The "cooperative cognition" realized by V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) emerges when we consider what kind of services can take advantage of 5G's features (ultra-high speed and low latency). This will enable ultra high-speed, low-latency communications by directly connecting vehicles using the millimeter wave band that is a feature of 5G. For example, sensor data from a camera or lidar (LiDAR: Light Detection And Ranging) of a car in front can be transmitted to the car driven by the driver at ultrahigh speed and low latency, and combined with the sensor data of the own car to enable the car in front to see through and recognize oncoming cars. This is a new concept of car driving. This could even rewrite the concept of driving a car, and it is thought that the high-speed, low-latency nature of 5G can only be realized in edge processing that does not involve the Internet.

In addition, various research and development efforts are currently underway in various areas for 6G, including non-terrestrial networks utilizing LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and HAPS (High Altitude Platform System), and terahertz wave band technologies, which are even higher in frequency than the millimeter wave band. Our 6G research is characterized by the fact that it considers 3G, 4G, and 5G as a package, which we describe as the "ultra-smart society service platform. By integrating cyber space and physical space with 5G/6G, it will be possible to create a new society and business, such as smart agriculture and smart mobility.

The device with the letter "SU" in the upper left corner is an active analog relay station. It operates on solar battery power, and the device itself is extremely inexpensive. The "1076 Mbps" can be confirmed on the PC display.

In the super-smart society of the 5G/6G era, cyberspace and physical space will be directly connected as a cyber-physical system (CPS). In the case of smart mobility, big data and artificial intelligence (AI) exist in cyber space, while sensors such as cameras and lidars, databases such as dynamic maps, edge computing (Multi-access Edge Computing, MEC) that makes decisions, and actuators such as cars exist in physical space. 5G/6G will connect them. Since sensors and databases will necessarily be high-definition, ultra-high-speed, low-latency communications will be essential. On the other hand, the inertia between MECs and actuators makes ultra-reliable low-latency communication more important than high-speed communication. Since there are many devices in physical space, simultaneous multiple connections between cyberspace and physical space will be necessary. In other words, the three characteristics of 5G/6G can be realized by connecting the five components of the CPS.

We are currently working on the "Super Smart Town Ookayama Project" at the Ookayama Campus of Tokyo University of Science. This is a project to make the mature town of Ookayama smart by utilizing 5G/6G and MEC. Currently, the construction of the 5G area, including millimeter wave, and MEC and other networks has been completed, and applications such as AR navigation and object recognition using MEC are in operation. We hope to use these cutting-edge technologies to revitalize not only TUMSAT but also Ookayama as a whole, and we have learned many things from this R&D.EventsI would like to introduce a part of it in the following section.
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