Engineers at the University of Delaware (UD) are tasked with developing the future of wireless – 6G – with a $7.2 million grant. Researchers in the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are developing 6G devices and platforms with AI capabilities, led by Professor and Navy veteran Dennis Prather, Research Professor Xiao-Feng Qi, and Delaware State University Professor Mukti Rana.
The four-year grant is funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and will be used by the UD team to overcome hurdles transitioning from 5G to 6G. The higher frequencies required for 6G (from 95 GHz into the low THz range) means devices must process massive amounts of data. The UD team is tasked with figuring out how devices can withstand speeds up to 1,000 times faster without increasing latency or compromising battery life. Advancements by the UD team can work for both the military and public use.
Prather and Qi established the Wireless Intelligent Systems Engineering center (UD-WISE) to “combine hardware, AI and systems that will address the ever expanding demands for wireless communications capacity.” One unique approach by UD-WISE, noted Qi, is to “combine cutting-edge photonic devices with wireless communications … looking beyond all-electronic silicon platforms and embracing both electronic and photonic silicon platforms.”
According to Jamie Phillips, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, “Their [UD-Wise] work will have a tremendous impact on defense and security, meeting needs of communications in the age of AI, and providing equitable access to high-speed internet capabilities.”
The “silicon-adjacent” approach works by manipulating electrons on silicon-based chips toward newer photonic devices that rely on light. Since photons travel faster than electrons, updated “photonic” devices shouldn’t have the same limitations as current electronic-based devices. “There’s certain things that all electronic systems just don’t do well, especially at higher frequencies, but light does it with ease,” said Prather.
Thanks to the ONR grant, UD-WISE will develop and refine its photonics-based devices for integrated sensing and communication applications. The advancement will enable devices to share information and collect environmental data and, using advanced AI and machine learning algorithms, respond and react to these changes in real time. “The whole idea is to have integration between intelligent systems for wireless domains and to create an integrated sensing and communications environment,” Prather added.
Prather and Qi are also employing those close to home in their development. According to Prather, “We also have dedicated facilities through small businesses that are also supported by the State of Delaware to actually begin manufacturing some of these technologies. We are taking it upon ourselves not only to do the research but to become a supplier at the manufacturing level for this technology.”
In collaboration with the Delaware Department of Technology and Information, the new technologies produced by UD-WISE will be deployed to provide high-speed internet to rural parts of the state. “We need to make sure the networks we are deploying are future-proof and scalable to advances in the tech-comm space,” said Delaware Broadband Office Executive Director Roddy Flynn.
Qi and Prather want to develop “autonomous, intelligent wireless networks that can adapt and respond to their surroundings deployed broadly.” Qi said, “The driving vision for us is that 10 years from now we will see wireless networks that know where its users are and what their needs are and are self-regulating in an adaptive and intelligent way.”
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