6G-BRICKS will deliver the first open and programmable O-RAN Radio Unit (RU) for 6G networks, termed the OpenRU, based on an NI USRP-based platform. Moreover, 6G-BRICKS will integrate the RIS concept and deliver breakthrough experimentation tools, going well beyond the current Testing as a Service (TaaS) capabilities of current initiatives, and allowing experiments also on devices via O-RAN compliant xAPPs. Thus, the 6G-BRICKS experimentation facility aims to serve a dual role, both as a playground for testing advanced vertical applications and for validation testing and showcasing of the clear benefits and capabilities of 6G breakthrough technologies and devices.

Key participants from 4 5G-PPP projects (MonB5G, MARSAL, REINDEER, HEXA-X) have joined forces to pursue the federation of their efforts in the 6G-BRICKS experimentation facility, leveraging on a mature set of experimentation tools from the 5GMediaHUB 5G-PPP project. 6G-BRICKS will be the first open 6G experimentation platform that combines cell-free, RIS, while adopting the proven principles of softwarisation, Open Interfaces (O-RAN), and Open-Source software stacks, putting future expansion and evolvability at its core. The project is bringing together specialists on breakthrough 6G technologies, such as cell-free networking, distributed processing and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), and adopting principles of modularity and softwarisation to deliver the first truly modular end-to-end 6G experimentation platform in Europe. 6G-BRICKS will structure the various architecture tiers around the concept of “LEGO Bricks”, delivering self contained testbed nodes that can be reused across testbed infrastructures. This significantly lowers the barrier of entry to an end-to-end experimentation platform for specialists to bring their breakthrough technologies for validation and experimentation.

IS-Wireless will be delivering its disaggregated vRAN solution (CU, DU, E2 extensions, xApps) to enable cell-free mMIMO. IS-Wireless will contribute with the novel data-driven, user-centric clustering algorithms, which will be leveraged to enable the implementation of scalable Cell-Free. The clustering will be extended to a multi-band scenario where information from one band will influence the clustering at another band. Distributed algorithms will be extended to also support multi-band processing. The solution will be integrated with the SDR platform from National Instruments and PHY layer developments by KUL.

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