Waterford SETU's Walton Institute receives major funding for 'groundbreaking' 6G technology project
The research project, set to take three years, hopes to enhance the resilience of future mobile networks to deal with disruptions. Stock photo.
The Walton Institute at South East Technological University is set to receive a research grant of almost €350,000 to fund a 'transformative' project into the next generation of mobile networks - 6G.
The research project, set to take three years, will be aimed at enhancing the resilience of future mobile networks to deal with disruptions to service from cyber attacks, technical failures and natural disasters.
Funding for the project titled, 'NeTS: Small: Fungibility in Mobile Networks for Resilient 6G', is coming from Research Ireland's, U.S. Ireland R&D Partnership Programme.
“We are pioneering a transformative approach to mobile network resilience," said the Walton Institute's Head of the Division of Programmable Autonomous Systems, Dr. Indrakshi Dey, who will act as the Principal Investigator for the project. "This project is not just about advancing technology; it’s a crucial step in ensuring that societies remain connected during crises.”
In collaboration with researchers from Trinity College Dublin, Virginia Tech and Queen's University Belfast, Dr. Dey's team will focus on designing mobile networks that can reconfigure themselves to maintain functionality for users despite faults and natural disasters which would lead to disruption for previous generations of mobile technology.
The Director of Research at the Walton Institute, Dr Deirdre Kilbane, stressed the significance of the project, given the increasing reliance of modern society on mobile networks which she said, was demonstrated during the recent Storm Éowyn which disrupted everything from electricity connections to water supplies showing the "critical importance of robust communication systems.”
In enhancing the resilience of 6G networks, the researchers hope they will have far-reaching benefits during crises by improving the communication lines for emergency services and the public.
The Walton Institute is a research arm of South East Technological University which focuses on research on Information and Communications Technologies, particularly those enabling communications and information services.
The Institute is named after Waterford-born physicist and Nobel laureate, Dr. Ernest Walton who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1951 for being the first to split the atom. The institute is seeking to continue its namesake's rich legacy of scientific advancements in the south east.
