The operation at Saudi Aramco is relatively harsh and firm due to enormous amount of remote facilities which are geographically dispersed across the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Offshore fields and deep in the desert sites give an idea about how challenging the operation is. Providing communication solution, optical or terrestrial radio connectivity services, to such remotes sites is not always economically feasible. Therefore, exploring space technologies to evaluate the potential space solutions that could address the connectivity challenges experienced in such remote facilities. Therefore, multiple pilots conducted by Saudi Aramco with different Space technology providers to evaluate various space technology capabilities in connecting and enabling Oil and Gas facilities. One pilot was conducted to explore the LEO satellite capabilities for connecting IoT devices over the space.

As the deployment of satellites and high-altitude platforms (HAPs) accelerates, the demand for dependable communication connectivity for ground and aerial users has never been more critical. The 6G-SKY project addresses this emerging need by developing integrated connectivity solutions and a holistic network architecture that seamlessly combines aerial and terrestrial elements. This seminar will explore the project’s innovative approach to ensuring robust communication for a diverse array of flying vehicles (FVs) while maintaining safety and operational efficiency. Key topics include the implementation of a flexible and adaptive network architecture, leveraging multipath and multi-connectivity through LEO satellites, HAPs, sidelink, and direct air-to-ground communications. For FVs, ML-assisted joint trajectory and handover management schemes will be discussed. For remote IoT, a multi-layer drone-aided NTN task offloading mechanism will be presented. Finally, an ML-assisted LEO satellite handover management scheme, considering different classes of users, will be explored.

Modern networking stacks face the challenge of rapidly increasing link speeds, while processing power has stag- nated over the last decade or so. In 1999 1Gbps Ethernet became available and AMD’s Athlon CPU hit 1GHz. By 2024, 800Gbps Ethernet is standardized in IEEE 8023.df, while most commercial CPUs clock hovers slight over 3GHz. To match the network link speed with limited computing cycles, modern networking stacks have adopted techniques such as zero-copy, batching, and polling. Yet the protocol logic has not changed much. Comparing the TCP header definition from 1981 to 2022, the only notable change was RFC3168 in 2001, which added control bits for explicit congestion control.

Existing networking stacks have been built anew whenever novel high-performance data movement technique is adopted. High-performance data movement techniques have been implemented ad-hoc: no re-use of existing stacks. The protocol logic and data movement patterns interleave, resulting in state explosion of combined finite state machines and rendering reuse of stacks almost infeasible. In AsyncNet we provide abstractions for data units and combinators for data movement. These two components offer effective decoupling of protocol logic from data movement patterns. With a runtime library and timers optimized for efficiency, our AsyncNet outperforms the state of the art Linux networking stack in both throughput and latency. As our networking stack is implemented in Rust and Rust is gaining ground as a safe choice against memory vulnerabilities. We conclude with visions for expansion into network functions and standard frameworks.

Offering ultra-high communication speed, low latency and massive connectivity, 6G networks promise to revolutionize the way we connect and interact with the world. Integrated with Artificial Intelligence capabilities, 6G networks can optimize and manage themselves dynamically to reduce human intervention, enhance efficiency and reliability while unlocking new possibilities for autonomous systems. Unlike traditional AI, Agentic AI takes a proactive and autonomous role. The convergence of Agentic AI and 6G networks heralds an unprecedented era of connectivity, intelligence, and innovation. This talk will explore the transformative potential of this intersection, delving into how Agentic AI integrates seamlessly with the ultra-fast, low-latency, and massively connected landscape of 6G networks. The synergy between Agentic AI and 6G networks is poised to reshape our world, driving innovation, enhancing connectivity, and fostering a future where the boundaries of possibility are redefined.

As 6G networks evolve, the demand for efficient and reliable wireless communication grows, driven by the need for seamless connectivity and higher system intelligence. This presentation focuses on the role of machine learning in optimizing wireless networks, with an emphasis on multi-modal AI that integrates data from diverse sources such as sensors, cameras, and intelligent surfaces. Key trends such as multi-modal sensing and intelligent surfaces are explored, highlighting how these technologies enhance beamforming, improve decision-making, and optimize resource allocation. The potential of large language models (LLMs) is also briefly discussed, showcasing their ability to augment decision-making in real-time network management. Through these advancements, AI can significantly improve the reliability, efficiency, and trustworthiness of 6G wireless communication systems.

Mobile networks have been on a tear for some 30 years, with every increasing performance and expanding capabilities. Just when the first generation of 5G deployments was under way a few years ago, we started preparing for 6G, the next major step in the evolution of mobile technology and standards. The expression “make haste slowly” applies nicely to the journey to 6G. It takes time and patience for research breakthroughs to be integrated and evaluated in a complex system, reduced to practice, and commercialized. This talk will cover many facets of evolving mobile technology, from my perspective working for a global industry leader, and personally focusing on the US environment. It will provide a high level timeline of the efforts towards 6G, in organizations such as ITU and 3GPP. It will also describe Ericsson’s technology expectations for 6G, based on our own internal work and our external collaborations. Finally, it will focus on the US environment, where wireless and mobile research is enjoying a burst of initiatives with industry, government and academia where Ericsson contributes. They include NSF RINGS and FuSe, and DoD MEC hubs.

In the past decade, there has been an unprecedented surge in the adoption of autonomous vehicles (AVs) across diverse sectors, encompassing academia, industry, transportation, aviation, defense, and government agencies. This surge has brought self-driving cars, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the spotlight. AVs rely heavily on GNSS as the cornerstone for positioning and navigation. Ensuring AVs’ safe and efficient operation necessitates reliable, accurate, and high-precision positioning across all environmental and operational conditions. In recent years, there has been a concerning rise in jamming and spoofing attacks targeting GNSS signals, impacting both military and civilian applications. Furthermore, in urban environments, GNSS signals can be severely obstructed or distorted due to multipath interference. Given the critical safety implications of autonomous vehicles (AVs), there is an urgent need for alternative wireless technologies that can complement or even operate independently of GNSS. The emerging 5G/6G mmWave networks, with their wide bandwidth and massive MIMO capabilities, present a promising solution for reliable, high-precision positioning in GNSS-denied environments. Additionally, the integration of onboard motion sensors and advanced perception technologies—such as cameras, radars, and LiDAR—offers the potential to enhance positioning accuracy, resilience, and precision when combined with wireless positioning systems. This presentation will highlight recent advancements at the NavINST Research Lab in wireless high-precision positioning and navigation, achieving decimeter-level accuracy. It will compare the performance of GNSS precise point positioning (PPP) with 5G-based mmWave wireless technology while exploring the potential of integrating wireless positioning with onboard motion sensors and perception systems onboard AVs. The discussion will cover the strengths and limitations of each technology, supported by real-world road test data collected from the NavINST land vehicle setup in various Canadian cities. Additionally, the presentation will provide insights into the future of wireless positioning, particularly leveraging Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations.

This talk will discuss the roadmap beyond 5G (called next-G) by providing a comprehensive vision on the technology trends and challenges. Starting with the IMT-2030 framework (approved in June 2023), we will embark on a journey to understand the lessons learned from 5G and what can be done to minimize the gap between next-G recommendations and customer expectations. Then, the technology trends to cope with the next-G recommendations and their main challenges will be presented. The talk will end with some “provocative” questions to open the floor for discussions.