Samsung Explores New Frontiers in Mobile Network Technology
Historically, mobile networks have been primarily tasked with the fundamental role of transmitting data across various locales.
However, Samsung posits that the underlying infrastructure can evolve to interpret the surrounding physical environment, all without the prerequisite of cameras or specialized sensors.
This innovative concept is encapsulated in Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), a technology currently being advanced as part of the industry’s quest towards the advent of 6G.
Recently, Samsung embarked on a trial with Verizon during a live international sporting event in Dallas, testing their mobile network infrastructure’s capabilities for assessing crowd density and movement.
While this trial, conducted last month, yielded promising results, the broader implications of ISAC technology for operators and businesses remain a subject of intrigue.
The potential exists for a transformative shift whereby the existing network infrastructure transcends traditional device connectivity, evolving into a comprehensive sensory platform.
“ISAC fundamentally reinterprets the entire mobile communication framework as a distributed sensing platform,” remarks Sanil Ramachandran, Director of Technology at Samsung Electronics America, in an interview with Mobile Europe.
Leveraging Existing Signals
At its core, ISAC utilizes the information generated by mobile networks. The radio signals exchanged between devices and base stations are influenced by the physical environment, as structures, vehicles, individuals, and other entities can modify their properties.
“In conventional systems, radio signals are transmitted, reflecting off elements like buildings, nearby vehicles, or even drones,” Ramachandran clarifies.
“With ISAC, the integrated sensing and communication paradigm reframes this concept, leveraging these distortions to enhance environmental awareness.”
This innovative approach heralds a new avenue for enterprises, granting them the ability to repurpose existing infrastructure originally intended solely for connectivity.
Ramachandran notes that this could alleviate the need for separate systems for every individual sensing requirement, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
Transitioning from Connectivity to Crowd Intelligence
The tech titan recently collaborated with Verizon to demonstrate ISAC’s potential through real-time crowd density monitoring at a live event.
Utilizing commercial 5G devices, CBRS spectrum, Samsung’s virtualized RAN technology, and an AI-powered ISAC application, the trial was capable of estimating crowd density and movement in near real-time.
“We successfully detected crowd density and movement instantaneously with this technology,” he states.
For venue operators, traditional crowd monitoring typically involves the use of cameras and complex analytics infrastructure, but ISAC offers a viable alternative.
“This solution allows us to leverage existing mobile communication infrastructure to generate comparable heat maps without relying on any cameras,” he elaborates.
“The system does not identify individuals but rather quantifies density—showing whether there is a high, moderate, or low concentration of people, represented through gradients and heat maps, without individual identification.”
Expanding Horizons Beyond Athletic Venues
Samsung envisions a vast marketplace for this technology spanning various sectors.
“The potential applications are vast,” Ramachandran asserts, noting that they could encompass civilian, enterprise, and even military applications.
Examples include drone detection and identification, alongside intrusion monitoring.
In industrial contexts, ISAC could assist in detecting unauthorized entry of individuals or objects into restricted areas.
Vehicle-to-everything technology is also a prospective avenue, with inherent sensing capabilities poised to supply additional insights regarding the environment surrounding connected vehicles.
AI as a Critical Challenge for Scaling
Nevertheless, transforming radio signals into actionable business intelligence remains a formidable challenge.
“The volume of data is extensive,” he explains. “Data sourced from mobile infrastructure or communication systems is immense.”
During the demonstration in Dallas, Samsung Research America employed an AI-driven ISAC inferencing application to analyze network data and convert variations in radio frequencies into crowd density estimates.
Despite this progress, the technology continues to mature. AI models necessitate ongoing training and refinement to enhance their precision, which entails considerable computational resources to manage and interpret the vast influx of mobile network information.
“Significant computational power is required to learn, relearn, and retrain these algorithms to ensure detection accuracy,” he emphasizes.
Experimenting with 6G Innovations on Existing Capabilities
Though ISAC is under exploration as part of the forthcoming 6G framework, Samsung is not awaiting the rollout of 6G networks to probe its possibilities.
Instead, the company is leveraging the existing 5G infrastructure to investigate the technology and glean insights that can inform future standards.
“Our objective is to validate these technological concepts over 5G, ensuring that the lessons learned will be applicable when standardizing 6G with ISAC,” he concludes.
Source link: Mobileeurope.co.uk.
