D4.1 First Release of mechanisms for dynamic coverage and connectivity extension

This deliverable reports the activity conducted in the work package 4 on the design and development of mechanisms for the dynamic coverage and connectivity extension through the exploitation of innovative devices (e.g., drones, robots, connected cars, other mobile assets like forklifts in a warehouse, etc.). The objective is to enable the dynamic, opportunistic set up of dynamic coverage and connectivity extensions for covering areas that cannot be easily reached, where infrastructure is required only for a finite, short amount of time, or where regular network infrastructure has been damaged e.g., due to terrorist actions or natural disasters.

The document starts from an update of the state of the art for coverage extension (on Mobile Access Point (MAP), decision making exploiting MAP, knowledge and context/situation awareness, Radio Access Network (RAN) management and network management and orchestration) and benchmarks the project’s investigation against the state of the art. For example, a large volume of research has been conducted in recent years on MAP. DEDICAT 6G is focusing on four use cases: Smart Warehousing with the utilization of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) and mobile asset for improving operations, Enhanced experiences with dynamic MAPs closer to moving audiences, Public safety with the utilization of diverse assets (Drones, AGVs, etc.) and Smart highway with the use of cars and roadside infrastructures.

Second, DEDICAT 6G proposes preliminary considerations to harmonize the research and development of innovative mechanisms for coverage extension. On the one hand, D4.1 deliverable recalls DEDICAT 6G network architecture and the functional and non-functional requirements defined in WP2 and maps the mechanisms for dynamic coverage and connectivity extensions to the functional model. On the other hand, D4.1 discusses about design considerations and modelling methodologies. It describes the prototypes in terms of Software / Hardware (e.g., robots, drones, cars, IoT devices) used to validate the technology enablers in the Proof of Concept (PoC) and relevant models to align the simulation frameworks parameters such as deployment scenarios, traffic models and channel models.

Finally, D4.1 presents preliminary studies/implementation of strategies for dynamic coverage and connectivity extension (e.g., strategies to deploy MAPs, to manage MAPs, to associate users to MAPs, to count people with IoT devices). For example, DEDICAT 6G investigates different strategies which can be applied at RAN level to extend the coverage of the network by means of MAPs. This includes complex optimization problems aiming to decide the optimal number of MAP entities to deploy, the optimal positions of MAPs in continuous space, the configuration of the radio network of the MAP, the dynamic association of multiple users to multiple access points and the finding of the nearest docking station for charging to provide the required coverage and connectivity extension and to ensure the QoS expected by the mobile nodes.