Overview
The emergence of 6G systems marks the advent of a new digital era, where mobile networks will serve as universal communication platforms, providing global smart connectivity to an unprecedented number of diverse devices. These devices will run a range of transformative services with exceptional and varied Key Performance Indicator (KPI) requirements, such as near-zero latency, virtually unlimited capacity, or extremely high reliability and availability. The communication infrastructure shall ensure a support for the devices and services above so perfect that it becomes completely transparent to applications. Leading organizations in Europe and worldwide all share this 6G vision.
Meeting the high expectations for 6G above requires evolving 5G networks in a number of ways, which include utilizing electromagnetic spectrum in the Terahertz (THz), sub-THz, infrared and visible light bands, widely adopting Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), natively integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) towards actual zero-touch network and service management (ZSM), progressively merging the computing and networking resources, or tightly coupling optical and wireless technologies in converged network infrastructures.
While new technological components like (sub-)THz communications, RIS, ZSM or optical-wireless convergence will be important to achieve the 6G KPI targets, they will prove insufficient if not accompanied by a substantial renovation of the 5G architecture. In particular, ORIGAMI argues that, when confronted with prime trends in the evolution of mobile demands, the 5G architectural model is severely lacking at its opposite ‘ends’, both towards:
- the external world, with an outdated support for global operation among network infrastructure providers, and
- the underlying physical infrastructure, where it curbs the full potential of virtualization and programmability.
If not addressed, these architectural deficiencies will impose clear limitations to 6G system operations and create significant risks that 6G falls short of expectations, despite any exceptional progress in wireless technologies and AI- assisted management techniques, and with dramatic repercussions on the mobile communication ecosystem.
In this context, ORIGAMI aims at spearheading the next-generation of mobile network architecture, overcoming eight factual barriers to ensure a successful 6G future. With three critical architectural innovations - Global Service-based Architecture (GSBA), Zero-Trust Exposure Layer (ZTL), and Compute Continuum Layer (CCL) - ORIGAMI strives to create global single standards, promote green transition, boost affordability and accessibility, and inspire ground-breaking applications and fresh business models.
To assess ORIGAMI's effectiveness, the project will carry out eight real-world demonstrations across six experimental sites and two large-scale international datasets from two major operators and validate our findings against twelve ambitious KPI targets.
The GSBA proposed by ORIGAMI will streamline communication and interoperability across network planes, paving the way for truly global standards. The AI-aided CCL will democratize access to extremely heterogeneous computing resources and will boost resource sharing with reliability guarantees, encouraging green transition, sustainability and greater accessibility. In turn, the ZTL will enable third-party players to securely program their virtual networks in zero-trust arenas, driving innovative high-value applications and creative business models.
ORIGAMI's emphasis on dependable, explainable, and unbiased AI/ML will ensure a reliable system that avoids corner case errors, setting the stage for a more connected, efficient, and sustainable telecommunications future.
