6G Positioning

Positioning information already played an important role in 5G. However, future application scenarios such as connected driving, industrial and logistics applications, or telemedicine are raising the need for precise positioning to a new level. Higher frequency ranges, more flexible networks and higher data rates in 6G are opening up new possibilities in the field of positioning.

With 6G, communication networks will also become highly precise, invisible sensors. Semantic Sensing makes it possible to extract valuable information about processes, objects, and environments from radio signals. This enables, for example, process automation and anomaly detection in production directly via the network—without any additional sensor hardware.

New use cases, requirements, performance characteristics and key technologies are described In the 6G white paper "Next-generation positioning within 6G" for positioning in future 6G networks.

Some performance requirements for high accuracy 6G positioning and sensing are:

• THz spectrum and ultra-wide bandwidths
• Intelligent reflective surfaces (IRS).
• Cell-free massive MIMO networks
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for precise positioning and intelligent sensor data analysis
• Flexible networks and localization service functionality
• Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC)
• Semantic Sensing for anomaly detection
• Positioning of end devices among each other

Download White Paper