OPPO's 6G AI-Cube Intelligent Networking


OPPO, the Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communications company headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong is a major manufacturer of smartphones, smart devices, audio devices, power banks, Blu-ray players, and other electronic products. Back in 2018, OPPO announced establishment of research institute to advance 5G and AI.

Now, the OPPO Research Institute has officially released its first 6G white paper - "6G AI-Cube Intelligent Networking". The press release said:

As one of the telecommunications industry's first in-depth looks of how artificial intelligence (AI) can empower 6G network architecture, the white paper proposes a more detailed vision for the design of next-generation communication networks.

Right now, OPPO has established a pre-research team to conduct preliminary research on 6G service and technology requirements, key technologies, and system features.

OPPO believes that 6G will reshape the way people interact with AI like never before, allowing AI to become a truly public-serving technology that can be used by everyone. Empowered by 6G, smart devices will become important participants and users of AI, downloading and deploying AI algorithms at different application levels to create new immersive experiences while also constantly collecting data to feed more advanced AI models.

For example, in the case of autonomous vehicles, 6G networks will be able to assign the most appropriate AI algorithm and the optimal communication connection based on the location of the vehicle and the current physical environment (e.g., time of day, weather). The vehicle will be able to immediately download and run AI algorithms that have been trained by countless other vehicles and devices, allowing the vehicle to provide the safest and most comfortable journey for the passenger.

Current networks can be broken down into two dimensions: the control plane (CP) and the user plane (UP). The UP is mainly responsible for the part of network performance that users can directly perceive, such as speed and latency. The CP, on the other hand, is closely related to network configuration, ensuring normal network operations under different movement patterns and location ranges of the network nodes. If we liken the UP to vehicles that are moving quickly through urban traffic, then the CP is the road traffic control.

OPPO's 6G white paper takes an innovative step forward by introducing AI Function Plane as a new dimension in 6G networks, running perpendicular to the traditional CP and UP planes to form an Intelligent Cube (AI-Cube). This unique, AI-enhanced architecture will enhance the 6G network on two levels: network functionality and high-level networking capability to allow 6G networks to self-optimize, dynamically administrate themselves, and intelligently distribute resources.

The complete PR is here and the PDF of whitepaper is available here.

This video provides a summary of their 6G Vision:

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