The pervasiveness and social-economic dependence on wireless technology has steadily increased over the last three decades. Currently, the 5th generation (5G) New Radio (NR) cellular system is being deployed to unlock the potential of new applications that require the connection of many more devices (Internet of Things), higher data rates and low latency (autonomous driving, 'Factory of the Future'). 5G operates in two frequency bands, 5G NR FR1 and 5G NR FR2. Many exposure parameters of 5G are similar to those of 2G-4G. However, there are also many differences that lead to major knowledge gaps, all of which will be addressed by the SEAWave project. SEAWave will (i) quantify the differences in exposure patterns between 2G-4G and 5G for the entire population including children; (ii) provide new tools and instruments for reliable exposure evaluation of base stations, local networks in factories, and end-user devices; (iii) provide the means to minimise exposure; (iv) generate important new scientific data for assessing the health risk from exposure to the new frequency bands (FR2), especially with regard to the potential (co-)carcinogenicity of skin exposure and other hazardous effects; and (v) provide knowledge for effective health risk communication and dissemination to various stakeholders. To achieve these ambitious objectives, the interdisciplinary consortium consists of highly experienced partners with leading expertise in the field who ideally complement each other to achieve maximum impact. European citizens, workers, national public health authorities, European Commission services, regulators, and standardisation bodies will all benefit from the SEAWave results as they will support science-based decisions and policies for the safe deployment and use of 5G and future wireless networks. Project SEAWave is part of the European cluster on EMFs and health.

Since the 2000s, a plethora of wireless technologies appeared to satisfy a continuously growing set of requirements, ranging from best effort to strict constraints on reliability or delays. It is very difficult for a service provider to choose the protocol suite tailored for one application among this variety of technologies and protocols. In addition, applications deployed over existing wireless networks can evolve or shift their requirements, making the protocol suite obsolete or requiring the replacement of the existing infrastructure with new devices to support new wireless communication technologies and protocols. This contributes to the premature obsolescence of electronic devices and increases the generation of e-waste. Last but not least, it is envisioned that the next generation of wireless standards will shift from static transceiver specifications towards end-to-end learning capable to adapt to its environment. In PERENNE, we propose to develop a fully programmable communication stack for wireless networks by leveraging the software-defined paradigm (namely, Software Defined Networking - SDN, and Software Defined Radio - SDR). We target the ultimate flexibility, from the reconfiguration of the protocol suite at runtime to the deployment of any future wireless technologies on the same infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to sustain the deployed infrastructure in the very long term, fighting against premature obsolescence without endangering innovation. We will transform each element of the communication stack into a computer program, i.e. a set of instructions in a specific language, that will be transmitted and executed by the end devices. Such an approach raises major scientific challenges such as securing the control plane, optimizing the system efficiency (in terms of energy consumption for example), or guaranteeing system convergence.