Translating high-speed electrical signals to the optical domain, electro-optic (EO) modulators are key components of photonic systems. On a technological level, lithium niobate (LN) has become a mainstay for such devices, offering a unique combination of strong EO activity and chemical stability as well as wide-band transparency and the ability to withstand high optical power levels. Recent advances in thin-film LN have opened an attractive path towards compact footprint, low operation voltage and large bandwidth, while maintaining the intrinsic advantages of the underlying material system. However, there is still a need to further reduce the component size and increase the component density of LN circuits to truly enable large scale photonic integration in volume over the current wafer sizes, which are still far from the 200-300 mm scale of silicon photonics. It is thus the goal of HDLN to establish an internationally unique technology base related to high-density thin-film LN technology. HDLN will demonstrate the viability of the technology platform through a series of demonstrators, geared towards highly relevant applications such as ultra-fast optical communications and ultra-wideband photonic-electronic signal processing. HDLN brings together a careful selection of experienced partners from academia and industry, comprising a recently incorporated start-up for the manufacturing platform, an independent photonic design and test house, and an internationally leading company in the field of communications that validates the technology at the application level.

As we move to the Internet-of-Things, the number of devices which will be connecting to the Internet – many of them without any direct human control - is estimated in billions in the immediate future. In October 2016, the Mirai Botnet performed the largest Denial-of-Service attack in history using infected consumer devices, showing how pressing is the need to properly secure the IoT. In parallel, a new technology has emerged which will be key in any future development in this sense: the blockchain. Initially designed as the backbone of Bitcoin a decade ago, Blockchain Technologies (BCT) are seen now as powerful digital abstraction of trust and stand out as a promising alternative to deal with it in the online world. Several initiatives are moving towards using BCT for securing the IoT, and the academic and industrial sector are participating in a race to envision and design new applications of BCT. However, there are few experts with a solid scientific background in IT Technologies who also have first-hand knowledge of the needs of the industry and who understand the financial and regulatory challenges of BCT. These professionals can be key to articulate converge of the BCT and the IoT technologies, to envision and create new business opportunities for the European economy. BAnDiT or Advanced Blockchain Attacks and Defense Techniques is an innovative research training network with two beneficiary organizations, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in the academic sector and Nokia Bell Labs in the private sector, which aims at bridging this gap. UPF will contribute through the network her knowledge and research experience in the departments of Information and Communication Technologies, Economics and Law and Nokia its hands-on experience in BCT. Partner organisations will contribute with transversal training events and providing access to existing blockchain ecosystems to test the results of the research conducted by the ESRs.

Chip-scale Kerr comb generators have emerged as a novel class of light sources with disruptive potential for a variety of applications such as hyper-scale optical communications, LiDAR, high-resolution spectroscopy, or ultra-broadband signal processing. Still, Kerr combs have not yet found their way into commercially relevant applications. This is mainly caused by the fact that high-performance comb generators are currently not available as commercial products. Another obstacle is the lack of additional tools that are needed for comb-based signal processing. CombTools aims at overcoming these obstacles by establishing a powerful technology base and a corresponding ecosystem for leveraging the full potential of Kerr combs in highly relevant application fields. On the technology level, we will develop copper-contamination-free silicon-nitride photonic integrated circuit with record-low propagation loss. Based on this, CombTools will offer low-barrier democratized access to comb generators with unprecedented performance, thereby preparing the ground for many follow-up innovations. We will further establish dedicated tools for comb-based signal processing, comprising comb-line processors, arrays of advanced electro-optic modulators, and control modules for comb synchronization. The performance of the developed technology will be shown in a series of ground-breaking demonstrations. CombTools brings together a carefully selected consortium that covers proven competences in technology, product engineering, and business development. The project can rely on a strong technology base developed by the group of Tobias Kippenberg at EPFL. This technology has been licensed to the high-tech start-up Deeplight, bringing Kerr-comb technology to the market through its German subsidiary Deeplight GmbH. The consortium further comprises Nokia as a leading international player, thereby offering an ideal framework for industrial innovation and entrepreneurial activities in the EU.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) is one of the main challenges that will drive the future evolution of wireless cellular networks, already engaged with the 5th generation. M2M communications are mandatory to support new digital twinning applications. The classical cellular infrastructure needs a deep evolution to adapt to this new paradigm: instead of files, or stream, the information is composed of small messages on sensing actions from the real world to its digital twin. The project will focus on non-terrestrial network (NTN) infrastructure required to ensure a full terrestrial coverage. An important property of such M2M networks is that working in connected mode is not feasible: maintaining the connection with myriad nodes would introduce a prohibitive cost. Moreover, classical training sequences used to learn the channel are a waste of resources from a communication point of view and should be suppressed to optimize resources. The goal of the WARM-M2M project is to tackle the problem of truly asynchronous transmission in the context of massive multi-user applications with small payload and sporadic transmission with little feedback channel. The consortium will join their background in 3 fields that are rarely studied together. First, the definition of all-inclusive waveform design (QCSP frames and tensor based frames) to avoid preamble. Second, the advanced multi-user decoding algorithm (hybrid Gaussian approximate message passing and Graph Neural Network) to tackle jointly the problem of active-users identification, channel estimation and decoding through a graph representation of the whole problem, and 3) the use of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) techniques to optimize the protocol layer. A major measure of success of WARM-M2M will be the integration of the proposed solution in future NTN standards.

G is envisioned to foster an Industry revolution and digital transformation and will accelerate the building of smart societies leading to quality of life improvements, providing truly immersive AR/MR/VR experiences, and will help in the deployment of connected robots and autonomous systems, haptic communication and smart healthcare. However, it also comes with a unique set of challenges, due to the unprecedented capacity, spectral efficiency, and infrastructure flexibility requirements. To this end, EXACT-6G research project aims to propose, design and validate a novel and agile 6G system architecture and enabling technologies, combining RIS with a Compute Continuum infrastructure and Distributed, Intelligent orchestration that seamlessly integrates Cloud, Edge and Far Edge nodes under a self-synthesized and self-managed PaaS system. Moreover, EXACT-6G will build a training network to conduct top-notch research towards the development and experimental evaluation of a gamut of techniques, methodological frameworks and tools. Furthermore, EXACT-6G proposes new concepts, such as Pervasive Orchestration, and designs new Explainable AI models for for scalable, autonomous control of the infrastructure, and allows microservices to “follow” users, being tracked by Joint Communication and Sensing mechanisms.