TIMES — THz Industrial Mesh Networks in Smart Sensing and Propagation Environments

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Future wireless networks are envisioned to support novel applications that require similar performance as wired networks in terms of data rate (Tbps), ultra-low-latency (well below 1 ms), sensing (e.g., mm-level localization accuracy), and reliability (e.g., 1 in a billion transmission error). The current 5G approaches have a hard time keeping up with such envisioned applications. TIMES addresses this problem by combining novel radio channel propagation measurements and modeling approaches, spectrally efficient and reliable communications at Terahertz (THz) spectrum bands with intelligent mesh networking protocols and smart sensing and shaping of the propagation environment through reconfigurable metasurfaces.

While the fundamental technologies developed will be applicable to different beyond-5G scenarios, TIMES will focus on an industrial setting, since many of the envisioned applications in this complex scenario (e.g., cooperative robots, predictive maintenance, real-time closed-loop control) require concurrent high performance, reliability, and sensing capabilities. 

PROJECT TITLE

TIMES — THz Industrial Mesh Networks in Smart Sensing and Propagation Environments

 

PROJECT DURATION

2023 − 2025

FUNDING SOURCE

European Union, Horizon Europe, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2022

PROJECT COORDINATOR

University of Bologna — CNIT

PROJECT LEADER AT FRAUNHOFER IAF

Dr. Laurenz John

OBJECTIVE

  • Development of a THz communication system for industrial applications based on a mesh architecture and intelligent reflective surfaces (IRS).

Fraunhofer IAF's objectives: 

  • Design, fabrication, and characterization of the 300-GHz RF front-end integrated circuits based on our InGaAs mHEMT technology with 35-nm gate length
  • Design, fabrication and characterization of highly compact 300-GHz transceiver modules including LO signal generation

Further information

Project website

Visit the website of the EU research project TIMES for more information.

 

Research on high frequency electronics

We develop transistors, monolithic integrated circuits (ICs) and modules for a wide range of applications.