6G is not only uncharted territory for the average user mobile phonewho have not yet familiarized themselves with their technique fifth generation networks (5G). This is also uncharted territory for specialists, and for this reason, experimental tests of the evolution of 5G at the EU level have been in full swing lately. That is, a sixth-generation technology that – with a development time horizon of 2030 – can support applications such as holographic teleportation, digitizing space, objects and people and converting them into 3D models (holograms). Greek scientists involved in research programs play an important role in the development of 6G.

It is currently in its first phase. European program 6GSNS in which the core team of eight includes two Greeks. This program includes 35 projects, some of which are implemented in Greece, and three of them are implemented in its laboratories. Polytechnic School of the University of Patras. “They essentially complement the approximately 15 projects we are already running at the University of Patras and address specific 5G applications, including in industrial environments. “6G is an overdeveloped 5G network,” explains a professor at the University of Patras and a PhD in optical telecommunications systems. Giannis Tomkos, which leads the Flexscale project, which aims to develop an appropriate technology to increase network bandwidth. This is one of the conditions for supporting 6G applications, the main characteristic of which is a much shorter response time (latency), that is, how quickly information reaches the sender to the recipient. Moreover, thanks to the shorter response time of 5G compared to 4G, communication between machines becomes possible (for example, a driverless car with sensors and radar).

The University of Patras has created a technological solution that provides much greater network bandwidth.

However, Mr. Tomkos and his team have created a technology solution that provides a much higher network bandwidth of about 100 petabytes per second, while today this size does not exceed 1.2 terabytes per second. To understand the specific dimensions, it should be clarified that 1 petabyte is equal to 1024 terabytes, and the capacity of a large external hard drive is 1 terabyte. Major tech giants such as Microsoft and Google have shown interest in the technology solution developed under the Flexscale project.

Another European research program in which Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications “Democritos” And space is a 6G sandbox that started in January and will be completed in 2025. In the so-called test networks in Athens, Malaga, Berlin and Oulu, researchers are testing technological solutions related to, among other things, artificial intelligence and digital twins, i.e. the digital “cloning” of a physical object such as an aircraft, of a real infrastructure such as a sports stadium , and in the second phase of man. The results of this project will be used in the European library to be created for 6G.

Greek involvement is visible through the Athena Research Center and the Adroit6G project, whose 13 partners met a few weeks ago in Athens. A specific project, which went into effect in January, aims to create a new system architecture to support 6G technology.

Holograms and imitation of feelings

6G, as Mr Tomkos explains, will be his mainstay Internet of Senses (iOS)where all the senses will be involved in communication between people. “Imagine being in your living room, you are on the beach, where you feel the wind on your face, the warmth of the sun and the smell of the sea,” says Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications group that systematically invests in iOS development. Since 6G networks are still in the lab, the expansion of the electromagnetic spectrum (required for 6G deployment) is expected to be discussed this year, with final decisions expected in late 2027/early 2028.

With its speed and ultra-low latency, 6G is expected to launch technologies that enable remote operations or advanced self-driving applications. It will also support advanced applications for national defense and airspace surveillance, air pollution control, and reliable hologram generation that can be used across all industries, communications, telemedicine, and even architecture. The use of special sensors and augmented reality (virtual reality) can give teleconferencing the character of a physical meeting.