Wireless Future

Emil Björnson, Erik G. Larsson

We are approaching a wireless future, where everything around us becomes connected and increasingly intelligent. Access to wireless connectivity is becoming as essential to our lives as access to electricity and water. In this podcast, two renowned Swedish academics discuss current and future wireless technology, as well as its impact on society. Erik G. Larsson is an IEEE Fellow and Professor at Linköping University, Sweden. Emil Björnson is an IEEE Fellow and Professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. They have written several textbooks, received numerous scientific awards, published hundreds of papers, and have tens of granted patents. They have a YouTube channel with 27k+ subscribers, youtube.com/wirelessfuture

  1. 28 MAY

    45. A Vision of Ubiquitous Connectivity

    “6G should be for the many, not the few” is the final sentence of a recent book by William Webb. In this episode, Erik G. Larsson and Emil Björnson use this book as the starting point for a conversation on why and how wireless technology can improve its coverage. The end goal is to deliver ubiquitous connectivity, so we can use any wirelessly connected application anywhere at any time. The discussion starts at the conceptual level: Why do cellular networks have generations? How are visions for future generations created, and can they be trusted? Different ways to enhance future networks are then covered, from making optimal use of existing network resources to adding different kinds of new infrastructure where it is most needed. The episode was inspired by the book “The 6G Manifesto”, ISBN 9798338481936. Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    1h 8m

  2. 22 APR

    44. Rethinking Wireless Repeaters

    Coverage holes exist in cellular networks despite decades of wireless technology evolution, but new potential solutions are on the horizon. In this episode, Emil Björnson and Erik G. Larsson discuss network-controlled repeaters, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, and half-duplex relays. Network-controlled repeaters have attracted particular attention from 3GPP in recent years; the conversation focuses on how these can create strong propagation paths through signal amplification. Implementation challenges related to synchronization, band selectivity, and stability are also covered. A detailed overview is provided in “Achieving Distributed MIMO Performance with Repeater-Assisted Cellular Massive MIMO” (https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.00142). Technical details can be found in: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2405.01074 and https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.17908  Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    58 min

  3. 13 MAR

    43. Ten Things That Are Missing in Many Textbooks

    There are many textbooks to choose between when learning the basics of wireless communications. In this episode, Erik G. Larsson and Emil Björnson discuss the recent book “Introduction to Multiple Antenna Communications and Reconfigurable Surfaces” that Emil has written together with Özlem Tugfe Demir. The conversation focuses on ten subtopics that are covered by the book and differentiates it from many previous textbooks. These are related to the dimensionality of physical constants, the choice of performance metrics, and the motivation behind OFDM signaling. Various system modeling characteristics are discussed, including how the antenna array geometry impacts the channel, dual-polarized signals, carrier frequency dependencies, and the connection between models for small-scale fading and radar cross-sections. The role of non-orthogonal multiple access, hybrid beamforming, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces are also covered. The textbook is meant for teaching an introductory course on the topic and can be freely downloaded from https://www.nowpublishers.com/NowOpen Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    1h 12m

  4. 13 FEB

    42. The Contours of 6G are Taking Shape

    Even if the 6G standardization is just beginning, the last five years of intensive research have illuminated the contours of the next-generation technology. In this episode, Emil Björnson and Erik G. Larsson discuss the recent paper “6G takes shape” written by leading researchers at UT Austin and Qualcomm. The conversation covers lessons learned from 5G, the potential role of new frequency bands and waveforms, and new coding schemes and forms of MIMO. The roles of machine learning and generative AI, as well as satellite integration and Open RAN, are also discussed. The original paper by Jeffrey G. Andrews, Todd E. Humphreys, and Tingfang Ji will appear in the IEEE BITS magazine, and the preprint is openly available: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.18435 Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    1h 7m

  5. 7 JAN

    41. 6G in the Upper Mid-Band

    New cellular network deployments are often associated with new frequency bands. 6G will likely use the upper mid-band from 7-24 GHz. It is called the “golden band” since it provides more spectrum than in current 5G networks and features decent propagation conditions. In this episode, Erik G. Larsson and Emil Björnson discuss the coexistence issues that must be overcome when operating in this band and how much spectrum we can expect to utilize. The future role of multi-antenna technology and its associated challenges are detailed, including the emerging “Gigantic MIMO” term. The prospects of exploiting near-field propagation effects in 6G and the road towards distributed cell-free MIMO are also covered. You can read Emil’s paper about Gigantic MIMO here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2407.05630 Nokia has a white paper about coverage evaluation: https://onestore.nokia.com/asset/213702 Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    56 min

  6. 04/04/2024

    40. Synchronization of Massive Antenna Arrays

    Many textbook models of communication systems assume that the transmitter and receiver are synchronized in time, frequency, and phase. Achieving and maintaining such synchronization is an often-overlooked practical challenge. However, the importance of synchronization grows as we plan to use larger antenna arrays and distributed MIMO in 6G. In this episode, Emil Björnson and Erik G. Larsson discuss some fundamental principles of synchronization, including the underlying physical phenomena, pilot signaling for phase synchronization, and reciprocity calibration. We especially discuss how the seemingly simplest angular beamforming can be among the hardest features to support from a synchronization perspective, with a digital array. More technical details in the papers https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05144 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.11730 Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    50 min

  7. 29/02/2024

    39. Radio Stripes at Terahertz (With Parisa Aghdam)

    Massive bandwidths are available in the sub-terahertz bands, but the coverage of a cellular network exploiting those frequencies will be spotty. The 6GTandem project tries to circumvent this issue by developing a dual-frequency system architecture that jointly uses the sub-6 GHz and sub-THz bands. In this episode, Erik G. Larsson and Emil Björnson are visited by Dr. Parisa Aghdam, Technical Lead of 6GTandem and Research Manager at Ericsson. The discussion starts with potential use cases, such as extended reality services in stadiums and connected factories. The conversation then focuses on hardware aspects, such as how to build a distributed antenna system using plastic microwave fibers and amplifiers so that sub-THz signals can be transmitted from many different locations. You can read more about the EU-funded project and its partners at https://horizon-6gtandem.eu/ Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    1 hr

  8. 09/01/2024

    38. Things We Learned at the 6G Symposium

    Many topics are studied within the 6G research community, from hardware design to algorithms, protocols, and services. Erik G. Larsson and Emil Björnson recently attended the ELLIIT 6G Symposium in Lund, Sweden. In this episode, they discuss ten things that they learned from listening to the keynote speeches. The topics span from integrated sensing, positioning, and localization via machine-learning applications in communications to fundamental communication theory, such as circuits for universal channel decoding and jamming protection. The expected 6G spectrum ranges, energy efficiency in base stations, and new use cases for electromagnetic materials are also covered. You can find slides from the symposium at https://elliit.se/news-and-events/focus-period-lund-2023/ Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade. Visit Erik’s website https://liu.se/en/employee/erila39 and Emil’s website https://ebjornson.com/

    1h 17m
See All (45)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

We are approaching a wireless future, where everything around us becomes connected and increasingly intelligent. Access to wireless connectivity is becoming as essential to our lives as access to electricity and water. In this podcast, two renowned Swedish academics discuss current and future wireless technology, as well as its impact on society. Erik G. Larsson is an IEEE Fellow and Professor at Linköping University, Sweden. Emil Björnson is an IEEE Fellow and Professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. They have written several textbooks, received numerous scientific awards, published hundreds of papers, and have tens of granted patents. They have a YouTube channel with 27k+ subscribers, youtube.com/wirelessfuture

Information

  • Creator
    Emil Björnson, Erik G. Larsson
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2022 All rights reserved. Music by Joseph McDade
  • Show Website
    Wireless Future

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