Given how quickly 5G networks have developed, 6G may seem like a far-off goal to some. However, the next generation of networking is already set to usher in a period of unprecedented creativity, connectivity, and game-changing opportunities.
The 6G technology has the potential to achieve previously unheard-of data speeds, extremely low latency, improved reliability, and ubiquitous connectivity. With these capabilities, it could open up a wide range of previously unthinkable applications. The introduction of 6G networks is anticipated to completely transform industries, economies, and society at large by enabling the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem and enabling the smooth integration of AI and immersive technologies.
As per a report published by the 5G Infrastructure Association, 6G technology is expected to introduce a near-instant and unrestricted complete wireless connectivity, which will significantly transform the way businesses function. And if forecasts come true, this game-changing technology might exist by the start of the following ten years.
Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm said, “Future networks will be a fundamental component for the functioning of virtually all parts of life, society, and industries, fulfilling the communication needs of humans as well as intelligent machines. As accelerating automation and digitalisation continue to simplify people’s lives, the emerging cyber-physical continuum will continuously improve efficiency and ensure the sustainable use of resources.”
“The vision for 6G is built on the desire to create a seamless reality where the digital and physical worlds as we know them today have merged. This merged reality of the future will provide new ways of meeting and interacting with other people, new possibilities to work from anywhere and new ways to experience faraway places and cultures,” Ekholm added.
6G is ready to deliver the hype
Even though 5G networks have improved latency and speed, 6G is poised to take these advancements to unprecedented levels.
Donald Butts, InterDigital’s Senior Director of Technology Strategy, said, “While we have seen early adoption of 5G for practical virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications, 5G has not been able to deliver on the early hype due to myriad factors like costs, chip shortages, and politics. As a result, we’ve seen lacklustre adoption across both consumer and industry sectors despite there being a lot of work done in developing services and bringing them to market.”
Although 5G isn’t able to provide fully immersive experiences, Butts explains that 5G has set the stage for 6G to expand on and make these opportunities possible.
“While 5G provides data transfer rates that are far superior to previous generations, it still falls short of the conditions required to support immersive experiences. Extended reality (XR) and full immersive experiences require data transfer rates of 200Mbps to 5Gbps – far beyond what is currently possible with 5G. 6G, however, certainly holds promise in this regard, because it will utilise higher frequency bands and is said to provide speeds up to 100 times faster than 5G. This will be crucial to providing immersive experiences ‘on the go’, which may aid in its widespread adoption,” Butts added.
Going beyond communications
According to Victor Holmin, World Wide Technology’s Director of Portfolio and Consulting, 6G will mark a shift “beyond communications.”
“The network 6G will go beyond communications by creating a distributed neural network with the ability to integrate physical, biological and cyber systems. This will be done through establishing a bridge between cognitive computing, communications and sensing technologies. 6G will mark the beginning of a new era: the Internet of Behaviours and Intelligence of Everything,” Holmin explains.
The sensor network, increased connectivity speeds, and the latest wave of edge computing and AI-driven applications will open up a plethora of new intelligent industry use cases. If these predictions become a reality, the deployment of 6G has the potential to dramatically increase capabilities, across the full spectrum of global industries, including transforming the way that teams collaborate.
“Instead of spending hours on 2D Zoom or Teams meetings, we will meet in 3D digital spaces, where our avatars will have ‘real’ eye contact. We will be able to meet in groups and even express body language in real-time. If we need to hold a one-on-one meeting, we could simply switch all the participants out and find a quiet virtual space to connect. And if you want to visit a factory or try out a product, you could simply ‘fly’ or ‘teleport’ to a digital twin and experience it from there,” predicts technology blogger and influencer Bernard Marr.
Moreover, 6G will enable the virtual world more than in the past, according to Holmin.
“With 6G supporting virtual environments and haptic technology, the virtual world will be closer to the in-person experience than ever before. It could be possible to no longer need to spend time commuting to the office, as the office could virtually come to us in a matter of seconds through VR and AR applications. Virtual meetings would feel almost as real as in-person ones without us having to leave our homes,” Holmin noted.
Enabling the future of remote work
The introduction of 6G networks is expected to significantly alter remote work and how people and businesses interact and function. Employees working from remote will enter a new era of productivity, efficiency, and flexibility with access to advanced technologies, immersive collaboration, and improved connectivity. The distinction between physical and virtual workspaces will become less clear, allowing people and businesses to fully realise the benefits of remote work and transform the nature of work itself.
“The added capacity of 6G has the potential to give workers the ability to control and interact with industrial machinery in real-time from the safety of their home office. Haptic sensory suits, fuelled by the ease of quickly moving data across the network, could allow workers to maintain full control from the safety of a desk through a controller and headset while still communicating with colleagues,” Holmin comments.
The potential capabilities are so great that the so-called ‘Internet of Behavior’ would come to pass if we could develop brain-machine interface devices that allow for the real-time sharing of thoughts and sensations.
“With 6G, the network itself will no longer be a constraint but instead ensure that almost any use case can be easily deployed. With a network as flexible as 6G is set to be, service providers will need to be flexible themselves, working collaboratively across the telecoms ecosystem and with customers to deliver solutions,” Holmin said.
The cyber-physical continuum
The cyber-physical continuum, which connects the physical world of senses, actions, and experiences, and its programmable digital representation, will allow free movement between the two. This is made possible by 6G. In addition to the metaverse as it is commonly known, which is a virtual world where avatars interact in virtual reality and augmented reality, 6G’s cyber-physical continuum goes much farther, offering a much closer connection to reality.
The cyber-physical continuum will enable the seamless coexistence of digital and physical objects as merged reality, improving the real world by projecting digital objects onto digitally represented physical objects. In the future, networks will be essential to almost every aspect of life, society, and industry, serving both intelligent machines and humans’ communication needs. The growing cyber-physical continuum will continuously increase efficiency and guarantee the sustainable use of resources as people’s lives become more simplified by the rapid automatisation and digitalisation of society.
To send data and update the digital representation in real time, countless sensors will be embedded in the real world. Actuators in the physical world will perform tasks that have been programmed in the digital representation in the interim. The 6G network platform aims to bring intelligence, constant connectivity, and complete synchronisation to this new reality.
How a 6G rollout could change work pattern
A rollout of 6G will enhance the way we connect online. Rather than devoting numerous hours to 2D Zoom or Teams meetings, we will convene in 3D virtual environments where our avatars will establish ‘authentic’ eye contact. We will have the capability to convene in clusters and convey nonverbal cues instantaneously. If a one-on-one meeting is required, we could easily swap out everyone and locate a peaceful virtual area to meet. Furthermore, you could ‘fly’ or ‘teleport’ to a digital twin and experience a product or factory directly from there.
Also, businesses will be able to offer engrossing VR and AR training experiences with 6G technology, which will expedite knowledge transfer between teams and improve retention. The aerospace and engineering giant Honeywell is already enhancing its training initiatives with AR and VR. New hires are given mixed reality headsets by the company, which allow them to ‘see’ the work that other employees are performing. The VR and AR technology overlays information to help the new hires learn as they imitate the tasks.
With the 6G rollout, people can experience the new social media world. We will use mixed reality glasses to view people’s 3D worlds—rendering them in real-time and customising them just for us—instead of accessing their 2D profiles on smartphones. For instance, we might go to someone’s virtual house and enjoy their artwork and vacation memories rendered in three dimensions. Alternatively, we could arrange a virtual planet get-together for a fireside conversation with our new and old social media friends.
The medical field will undergo a revolution thanks to 6G technology. We’ll have smart sensors floating through our bloodstream, measuring and monitoring every facet of our health with lightning-fast data speeds. These networked devices will gather data continuously, analyse it, and provide recommendations and health issue predictions ahead of time.
Additionally, smart devices that can provide medical attention and physical support will be available to us. These devices will be backed by online digital avatars that are updated regularly. Our healthcare sector will transition from a reactive to a personalised and predictive model with the help of these new developments. This will significantly affect everyone who works in the healthcare industry today and completely change the way we take care of our health in the future.
With 6G connectivity, we will have real-time, 4D maps that can help us manage the extreme traffic of our future cities, including autonomous vehicles on the ground (and even in the air). Highly precise sensors in cars and base stations that can navigate and provide you with the fastest, most comfortable commute will make your commute better.