Image: Bosch
Connected and autonomous vehicles will probably soon shape our image of modern mobility. Works with some partners Bosch there as part of the “6G-ICAS4Mobility” project in the next generation of mobile communications. Because the 6G standard will play a key role in next-generation mobility. This promises more efficiency, safety and comfort for future vehicles. 
So far, cars have been equipped with sensors, such as cameras or radar, to perceive their surroundings. So far, however, communication and sensor systems have been independent of one another. The “6G-ICAS4Mobility” project has the task of coupling the various communication and radar systems with each other and integrating them together into the 6G system. This is intended to contribute to the essential foundations for the 6G standard.
The consortium, led by Bosch and made up of various universities and automotive suppliers, is currently in the research phase. Work is underway to combine sensor data from various end devices, including those from vehicles, via 6G mobile communications to form an image of the environment. This should increase road safety and make road use more efficient. In the future, radar functions are to be built directly into communication modules in order to save costs.
The coupling and integration of communication and radar functions “Integrated Communication and Sensing” (ICAS) has been discussed for years. The radio spectrum, hardware and signal processing are to be used jointly and integrated into 6G systems. Direct communication between two vehicles can also be implemented using “Sidelink”, completely independent of the existing mobile communications infrastructure. This is one of the keys to safe, autonomous driving – even in “regions with poor mobile phone connections”. (i.e. in Germany).
In addition to road traffic, drones also play a role in Industry 4.0. Sounds like 6G research is slowly but surely picking up speed. After all, completion of the next mobile communications standard is planned for 2028. On the part of the German federal government, 700 million euros will flow into 6G research by 2025 alone. The EU has also planned a further 900 million euros by 2027. After all, consequences have probably been drawn from the market-dominating role of Huawei and Co. in the 5G development. 6G is also the key to a planned European satellite infrastructure.
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