Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 25-8 - 24

6G services will dramatically increase requirements on many
networks' key performance indicators versus 5G, such as peak
data rates, latencies, and ultra-high reliability. In this framework,
Project TRAINER (PID2020-118011GB-C21), in which
TC-37 member Pere Barlet-Ros and his team are involved,
aims to architect and validate a converged AI/ML empowered
end-to-end network infrastructure towards the full deployment
of beyond 5G networks towards 6G. TRAINER proposes
an innovative network knowledge plane, leveraging a combination
of Graph Neural Networks (GNN) and network
measurements for an automatic orchestration and delivery of
end-to-end network services [4]-[8].
Project FutureCom - RF Measurements for Future
Communications Applications
European manufacturers of telecommunications equipment,
telecom operators, and regulators face ever-increasing customer
demands in terms of higher data rates and energy
consumption. Higher data rates translate to energy consumption
as well as higher frequencies for amplifiers, integrated
circuits, and printed circuit boards (PCBs). The widespread
implementation of future communications such as 5th generation
(5G) and Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs)
presents challenges for the developed technology as electronic
radio frequency (RF) components, circuits, subsystems, and
systems must be characterized and demonstrate good performance
in " real world " operating conditions. However,
European NMIs/DIs currently lack the capacity to carry out
such RF measurements necessary to support the communications
sector. This project addresses the issue by developing
measurement capabilities that enable devices and systems to
be electrically tested under realistic (i.e., end-user) operating
conditions, including appropriate environmental conditions.
In this framework, Project FutureCom (20IND03) [9],
funded by Euromet, belongs to the EMPIR program and
involves several European National Metrology Institutes
(including NPL-United Kingdom, CMI-Czech
Republic, IMBiH-Bosnia and Herzegovina, INTA-Spain,
LNE-France, PTB-Germany, TUBITAK-Turkey, and
VSL-Netherlands), Academic Research Institutes (among
which are FH Aachen-Germany, SURREY-United Kingdom,
TU Delft -Netherlands, and UNICAS-Italy), and
Industrial partners (such as Anritsu, INEX, Keysight BE,
METAS, NIBNV, Nokia, Rosenberger, and Thales).
The National Physics Laboratory (NPL) coordinates the
whole project, and in this framework, several members of
TC-37 (Prof. Domenico Capriglione and Luigi Ferrigno) are involved
in developing the project. TC-37 member Prof. G. Miele
coordinates the work-package #5 which relates to the creation
of the impact by transferring knowledge and managing all the
dissemination of the results [10].
Involvement in Standards Development
Following the topicality of IEEE1451 for distributed applications,
many efforts are taken by TC-37 members Prof. Antonio
Espirito Santo, Marco Carratù, and Vincenzo Paciello in the
24
development of a new standard dealing with the adaptation of
different sensor nodes, produced by different manufacturers,
in order to work together in a single Wireless Sensor Network
with a " Plug and Play " approach. Of course, such kind of approach
will dramatically speed up the setup, configuration,
and deployment of sensor networks, thus also reducing some
kinds of problems that could arise in case of configurations
made by humans. This is possible thanks to the introduction
of a Transducer Electronic Datasheet (TEDS) stored on the
different sensor nodes which allows the central node to communicate
with the sensors and to correctly evaluate the data.
Some examples of the application of this proposal can be found
in [11]-[13] where the importance of these aspects and possible
solutions are applied to the critical case of the Earthquake
Early Detection.
Promoting Conferences and Links with
Industry
TC-37 tries to create links with industry also by involving industry
players inside conferences and events organized or
co-organized by the TC-37. As an example, more recent editions
of the IEEE International Symposium on Measurements
and Networking (M&N) included specific oral sessions for
researchers belonging to industry and instrument manufacturers
operating in the field of " Measurements and
Networking " with the aim of fostering their links with researchers
operating in the field of Academia and belonging
to the IMS. In particular, the oral presentations were given
by experts of Teledyne LeCroy, Tektronix, Rhode & Schwarz,
DELO Instruments, and ST Microelectronics, and ranged
from IoT testing to measurements of WSN and in modern
wireless and 5G systems.
Following these trends, the 2022 IEEE International Symposium
on Measurements and Networking (M&N) hosted
several presentations from industrial partners like Ericsson,
Rhode & Schwarz, DELO Instruments, and Teledyne LeCroy.
They involved up-to-date topics relating to the measurements
for modern telecommunication technologies by showing the
challenges that will be faced in the future. The M&N also
hosted keynotes offered by high academic experts in the
field of modern and future telecommunication technologies
dealing with Measurements for Quantum Information Applications
and LoRaWAN, the emerging standard for LPWAN
(Low Power Wide Area Networks) in unlicensed bands [14].
References
[1] H. da Rocha, R. Abrishambaf, J. Pereira, and A. Espirito Santo,
" Integrating the IEEE 1451 and IEC 61499 standards with the
industrial internet reference architecture, " Sensors, vol. 22, no. 4,
p. 1495, Feb. 2022.
[2] R. Abrishambaf, H. Da Rocha, and A. Espírito-Santo, " IEC 61499
and IEEE 1451 for distributed control and measurement systems, "
in Proc. 47th Annual Conf. IEEE Industrial Electronics Soc. (IECON
2021), pp. 1-6, 2021.
[3] H. da Rocha, A. Espirito-Santo and R. Abrishambaf, " Semantic
interoperability in the Industry 4.0 using the IEEE 1451 standard, "
IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine
November 2022
Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 25-8

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 25-8
