Industrial Technology Research Institute

ITRI participated in the 2023 EuCNC & 6G Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 6G technologies collaboration with leading French research institute EURECOM on June 9. Under the MoU, the two parties will collaborate on areas including joint communication and sensing (JCAS), reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), AI-native networks, and Open RAN Network architecture. The cooperation is expected to open up opportunities for industries, academia, and research institutions in Taiwan to participate in the EU’s 6G project proposals and early-stage verification and testing.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Pang-An Ting, ITRI’s General Director of the Information and Communications Research Laboratories, and David Gesbert, Director at EURECOM. Under the MoU, both parties will work together on exploring the opportunities in 6G technology through regular exchanges of talents, seminars, and joint research proposals.

Dr. Ting indicated that the collaboration aims to bring new opportunities to Taiwan’s industries through the joint development of advanced technologies. Potential areas include JCAS technology which facilitates the integration of radar perception for the base station industry, RIS technology which meets the energy-saving and low-power consumption requirements of leading communication companies, and Open RAN architecture which enables seamless software and hardware security interconnectivity. Dr. Ting expected that the deepened partnership with the EU in technological and industrial development will empower Taiwan to grasp key technology in 6G and position itself at the forefront of the market.

EURECOM, which has been training engineering students from universities for thirty years, boasts cutting-edge research and innovation in digital science including communication technology. Navid Nikaein, Professor at EURECOM and Co-founder of OpenAirInterface, anticipated that 6G will become a crucial field in the future with the continuous evolution of the industry. This year, Prof. Nikaein was invited to Taiwan as a speaker at the 2023 Open RAN Workshop and was impressed by the research capabilities and vision of ITRI. He believes that through the collaboration with ITRI, both parties will bring in new 6G technologies.

The 2023 EuCNC & 6G Summit, themed “6G for a Green and Digital Transition”, took place from June 6 to 9 at the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre. The event not only serves as an annual gathering in the field of communication systems and networks in Europe but also provides an excellent platform for countries across the world to demonstrate their latest technological developments. ITRI, a member of the Taiwan MOEA DoIT delegation for this event, has successfully showcased its R&D achievements in JCAS, RIS, AI-native networks, and Open RAN ecosystem. It is expected that through ITRI’s networking efforts, potential partners can be identified and reached for cooperation on EU project proposals, enabling Taiwanese industry to become a strategic innovation partner with the European Union, fostering close cooperation and partnership.