Purdue University, PRF Giving 'Life' to 6G

Hype is a dangerous thing. Hype gets the masses talking, sets expectations and is rarely met with patience. For years, we impatiently awaited the arrival of 5G, but as soon as its arrival, many are moving on to the next generation, and some project commercial deployments by 2028. All can agree, if 6G is to reach the main stage, it has to start somewhere, the classroom seems logical.

 Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) recently unveiled the “Lab to Life” (L2L) innovation platform in the Discovery Park District – 400-plus acre purpose-driven community intended as a testing ground to drive innovation in digital applications and next generation wireless technologies. Most notably: 6G.

Discovery Park District includes laboratories, offices, retail shops, advanced manufacturing facilities, housing and restaurants – even an airport with a 7,000 ft runway! The district is considered an “Opportunity Zone”, and hosts the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration, the point of contact for companies seeking to engage in the project.  

Underpinning these efforts is the Technology Leaders Advisory Board (TLAB). Created by PRF and Purdue, the board contains leaders in innovation that will serve to guide infrastructure constructions with an open approach to network deployment and applications.  

AT&T, Celona, Cisco, Dell, Ericsson, Intel, SBA Communications and Tilson make up the corporate members of the project, with the expectation to expand the group in the coming months and years.

“6G will go from a domain to a foundation to many vertical domains, from one network to a heterogeneous network of networks. From dynamic sharing and new spectra to edge intelligence and open architecture, 6G research needs to be accelerated through deployment in the U.S.,” said Mung Chiang, Purdue’s executive vice president for strategic initiatives and the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering.

In the coming months, the community will host a competition for deployment-ready, cutting-edge solutions where universities and companies will be invited to suggest 5G, WiFI6 and 6G technologies for deployment.

It’s unclear when, but I have no doubt 6G is coming. Is the hype for real? That I can confirm nor deny, but I can say these types of collaborations are what bring the next generation of innovation to life.