On the Road to 6G: Visions, Requirements, Key Technologies and Testbeds

Fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems have entered the stage of commercial development, providing users with new services and improved user experiences as well as offering a host of novel opportunities to various industries. However, 5G still faces many challenges. To address these challenges, international industrial, academic, and standards organizations have commenced research on sixth generation (6G) wireless communication systems. A series of white papers and survey papers have been published, which aim to define 6G in terms of requirements, application scenarios, key technologies, etc. Although ITU-R has been working on the 6G vision and it is expected to reach a consensus on what 6G will be by mid-2023, the related global discussions are still wide open and the existing literature has identified numerous open issues. This paper first provides a comprehensive portrayal of the 6G vision, technical requirements, and application scenarios, covering the current common understanding of 6G. Then, a critical appraisal of the 6G network architecture and key technologies is presented. Furthermore, existing testbeds and advanced 6G verification platforms are detailed for the first time. In addition, future research directions and open challenges are identified for stimulating the on-going global debate. Finally, lessons learned to date concerning 6G networks are discussed.

Channel Modeling for UAV-to-Ground Communications with Posture Variation and Fuselage Scattering Effect

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-to-ground (U2G) channel models play a pivotal role for reliable communications between UAV and ground terminal. This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3D) non-stationary hybrid model including both large-scale and small-scale fading for U2G multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) channels. Distinctive channel characteristics under U2G scenarios, i.e., 3D trajectory and posture of UAV, fuselage scattering effect (FSE), and posture variation fading (PVF), are incorporated into the proposed model. The channel parameters, i.e., path loss (PL), shadow fading (SF), path delay, and path angle, are generated incorporating machine learning (ML) and ray tracing (RT) techniques to capture the structure-related characteristics. In order to guarantee the physical continuity of channel parameters such as Doppler phase and path power, the time evolution methods of inter- and intra- stationary intervals are proposed. Key statistical properties , i.e., temporal autocorrection function (ACF), power delay profile (PDP), level crossing rate (LCR), average fading duration (AFD), and stationary interval (SI) are given, and the impact of the change of fuselage and posture variation is analyzed. It is demonstrated that both posture variation and fuselage scattering have crucial effects on channel characteristics. The validity and practicability of the proposed model are verified by comparing the simulation results with the measured ones.

An Improved Equiangular Division Algorithm for SBR based Ray Tracing Channel Modeling

Compared with image method (IM) based ray tracing (RT), shooting and bouncing ray (SBR) method is characterized by fast speed but low accuracy. In this paper, an iterative precise algorithm based on equiangular division is proposed to make rough paths accurate, allowing SBR to calculate exact channel information. Different ray launching methods are compared to obtain a better launching method. By using equiangular division, rays are launched more uniformly from transmitter (Tx) compared with the current equidistant division method. With the proposed iterative precise algorithm, error of angle of departure (AOD) and angle of arrival (AOA) is below 0.01 degree. The relationship between the number of iterations and error reduction is also given. It is illustrated that the proposed method has the same accuracy as IM by comparing the power delay profile (PDP) and angle distribution of paths. This can solve the problem of low accuracy brougth by SBR.

An Improved Ray Tracing Acceleration Algorithm Based on Bounding Volume Hierarchies

Ray tracing is an efficient channel modeling method. However, the traditional ray tracing method has high computation complexity. To solve this problem, an improved bounding volume hierarchies (BVH) algorithm is proposed in this paper. Based on surface area heuristic (SAH) and spatial distance, the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce the number of unnecessary intersection tests between ray and triangular facets. In addition, the algorithm fully considers the influence of ray action range, which can not only make up for the defects of spatial division based on uniform grid method and k-dimensional (KD) tree, but also solve the problem of unsatisfactory spatial division based on traditional BVH algorithm. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional BVH algorithm, the proposed algorithm can improve the computation efficiency by 20% to 35% while ensuring the computation accuracy.

A Weighted Random Forest Based PositioningAlgorithm for 6G Indoor Communications

Due to the indoor none-line-of-sight (NLoS) propagation and multi-access interference (MAI), it is a great challenge to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy in indoor scenarios. However, the sixth generation (6G) wireless communications provide a good opportunity for the centimeter-level positioning. In 6G, the millimeter wave (mmWave) and terahertz (THz) communications have ultra-broad bandwidth so that the channel state information (CSI) will have a high resolution. In this paper, a weighted random forest (WRF) based indoor positioning algorithm using CSI based channel fingerprint feature is proposed to achieve high-precision positioning for 6G indoor communications. In addition, ray-tracing (RT) is used to improve the efficiency of establishing channel fingerprint database. The simulation results demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithm. It is shown that the positioning accuracy of the algorithm is stable within 6 cm in different indoor scenarios with the channel fingerprint database established at 0.2 m intervals.

An SBR Based Ray Tracing Channel Modeling Method for THz and Massive MIMO Communications

Terahertz (THz) communication and the application of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology have been proved significant for the sixth generation (6G) communication systems, and have gained global interests. In this paper, we employ the shooting and bouncing ray (SBR) method integrated with acceleration technology to model THz and massive MIMO channel. The results of ray tracing (RT) simulation in this paper, i.e., angle of departure (AoD), angle of arrival (AoA), and power delay profile (PDP) under the frequency band supported by the commercial RT software Wireless Insite (WI) are in agreement with those produced by WI. Based on the Kirchhoff scattering effect on material surfaces and atmospheric absorption loss showing at THz frequency band, the modified propagation models of Fresnel reflection coefficients and free-space attenuation are consistent with the measured results. For massive MIMO, the channel capacity and the stochastic power distribution are analyzed. The results indicate the applicability of SBR method for building deterministic models of THz and massive MIMO channels with extensive functions and acceptable accuracy.

Pervasive wireless channel modeling theory and applications to 6G GBSMs for all frequency bands and all scenarios

In this paper, a pervasive wireless channel modeling theory is first proposed, which uses a unified channel modeling method and a unified equation of channel impulse response (CIR), and can integrate important channel characteristics at different frequency bands and scenarios. Then, we apply the proposed theory to a three dimensional (3D) space-time-frequency (STF) non-stationary geometry-based stochastic model (GBSM) for the sixth generation (6G) wireless communication systems. The proposed 6G pervasive channel model (6GPCM) can characterize statistical properties of channels at all frequency bands from sub-6 GHz to visible light communication (VLC) bands and all scenarios such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), maritime, (ultra-)massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), and industry Internet of things (IIoT) scenarios. By adjusting channel model parameters, the 6GPCM can be reduced to various simplified channel models for specific frequency bands and scenarios. Also, it includes standard fifth generation (5G) channel models as special cases. In addition, key statistical properties of the proposed 6GPCM are derived, simulated, and verified by various channel measurement results, which clearly demonstrates its accuracy, pervasiveness, and applicability.

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces: Channel characterization and modeling

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) are two dimensional (2D) metasurfaces which can intelligently manipulate electromagnetic waves by low-cost near passive reflecting elements. RIS is viewed as a potential key technology for the sixth generation (6G) wireless communication systems mainly due to its advantages in tuning wireless signals, thus smartly controlling propagation environments. In this paper, we aim at addressing channel characterization and modeling issues of RIS-assisted wireless communication systems. At first, the concept, principle, and potential applications of RIS are given. An overview of RIS based channel measurements and experiments is presented by classifying frequency bands, scenarios, system configurations, RIS constructions, experiment purposes, and channel observations. Then, RIS based channel characteristics are studied, including reflection and transmission, Doppler effect and multipath fading mitigation, channel reciprocity, channel hardening, rank improvement, far field and near field, etc. RIS based channel modeling works are investigated, including largescale path loss models and small-scale multipath fading models. At last, future research directions related to RIS-assisted channels are also discussed.

Geometry-Based Stochastic Probability Models for the LoS and NLoS Paths of A2G Channels under Urban Scenario

Path probability prediction is essential to describe the dynamic birth and death of propagation paths, and build the accurate channel model for air-to-ground (A2G) communications. The occurrence probability of each path is complex and time-variant due to fast changeable altitudes of UAVs and scattering environments. Considering the A2G channels under urban scenarios, this paper presents three novel stochastic probability models for the line-of-sight (LoS) path, ground specular (GS) path, and building-scattering (BS) path, respectively. By analyzing the geometric stochastic information of three-dimensional (3D) scattering environments, the proposed models are derived with respect to the width, height, and distribution of buildings. The effect of Fresnel zone and altitudes of transceivers are also taken into account. Simulation results show that the proposed LoS path probability model has good performance at different frequencies and altitudes, and is also consistent with existing models at the low or high altitude. Moreover, the proposed LoS and NLoS path probability models show good agreement with the ray-tracing (RT) simulation method.