From Oulu to Seoul – Building 6G Networks That Can See and Sense

The University of Oulu’s 6G Flagship, a world-leading 6G research programme, is strengthening its ties with South Korea to develop the next generation of wireless technology.  The new three-year project (Sep 2024 – Aug 2027), called 6G-WISECOM, funded by Business Finland and South Korea’s Institute for Information & Communication Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), will explore how to make 6G networks faster and smarter.

The key focus? Integrated Sensing and Communication, or ISAC for short. Think of it as giving our future wireless networks eyes and ears beyond just transmitting data.  It’s a big deal, which is why both Finland and South Korea have identified it as a crucial area of research for 6G.

The 6G-WISECOM project is a pioneering initiative that aims to transform wireless networks by incorporating advanced sensing capabilities. “Our goal is to leverage both novel radio technologies and information from multiple new domains, including cameras, lidar, visible-light communication, and more, to enable what we call multimodal sensing,” explains Dr. Arthur S. de Sena, the Project Manager of 6G-WISECOM.

What does this mean in practice? Imagine smarter cities where traffic flows smoothly thanks to networks that can “see” and predict congestion. Imagine self-driving cars that navigate safely with a heightened awareness of their surroundings. Or factories where robots and machines work seamlessly together, coordinated by a network that can pinpoint their location with incredible accuracy.  ISAC’s ability to provide continuous awareness also makes networks more resilient, allowing them to automatically detect problems and adapt to maintain connectivity.

“Our vision for the 6G-WISECOM project is to drive innovation in ISAC, leveraging multiple technological domains to create smarter, context-aware networks, shaping the 6G era,” says Dr. Sena.

Researchers from Finland will be working hand-in-hand with experts from top South Korean institutions, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), and Dankook University (DKU). They’ll explore new radio technologies, advanced spectrum sharing, and artificial intelligence to make multimodal sensing a reality.

The partnership between Finland and Korea in this area is not new. ETRI, for example, was the first partner of the 6G Flagship outside the EU, and the collaboration dates back to the 5G demonstrations at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The University of Oulu’s 6G collaboration with South Korea, through projects such as 6G-WISECOM, demonstrates how international collaboration is accelerating progress towards global 6G development by pooling expertise and resources.

The project was officially kicked off at the end of January with a meeting in Oulu, where a delegation from the Korean consortium joined their Finnish counterparts. The meeting coincided with the IEEE JC&S Symposium, where members of 6G-WISECOM participated in a workshop focused on multidisciplinary approaches to Joint Communication & Sensing in 6G, demonstrating the project’s commitment to advancing the field.

As Finnish and Korean experts continue to exchange ideas and develop cutting-edge solutions, the 6G-WISECOM project is set to make significant contributions to the future of wireless technology.