The 20 technical performance requirements for 6G all point to six major application scenarios, namely immersive communication (IC), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (HRLLC), massive communication (MC), ubiquitous connectivity (UC), artificial intelligence and communication convergence (AIAC), and integrated communication and sensing (ISAC). In December 2023, ITU first determined the framework and overall goals of 6G, identifying these six major scenarios, which not only represent the evolution of 5G but also meet the demands of new scenarios.
Among them, immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, and massive communication stem from the further evolution of the three major scenarios in the 5G era, corresponding respectively to enhanced mobile communication (eMBB), low-latency high-reliability communication (uRLLC), and massive communication (mMTC). Ubiquitous connection, the integration of artificial intelligence and communication, as well as the integration of communication and sensing, are in line with the development of technological and industrial innovation, forming new scenarios.
For the Internet of Things (iot), 6G achieves a deep integration of the physical world and the virtual world through technological innovation, becoming a new type of digital infrastructure that supports the evolution of iot towards all-domain intelligence. Based on the ITU's consensus on the performance of 6G technology and the evolution logic of 6G technology, we can start from six major application scenarios to systematically analyze the enabling capacity and development prospects of 6G for the Internet of Things. The author believes that the direction of the Internet of Things in the 6G era can be viewed from three aspects: connection, experience and intelligence.
I. Connection: The density and breadth of 6G Internet of Things have been further expanded
From the perspective of connection, massive communication and ubiquitous connection reflect the upgrade and new features of connection in the 6G era, demonstrating the density and breadth of 6G connection. Moreover, these two major scenarios are largely designed specifically for the Internet of Things.
1. Massive communication: Supports the effective connection of a dense network of Internet of Things devices
In the 6G era, the technology for massive device connections will achieve a breakthrough. The ITU proposes that 6G should achieve a device connection density of 10(6) to 10(8) per square kilometer, that is, 1 million to 100 million device connections per square kilometer, which is 10 to 100 times higher than 5G. From the perspective of technological evolution logic, we can predict that 6G will inherit and develop a series of iot technologies from the 5G era, including the RedCap and eRedCap series of lightweight 5G technologies, as well as the NB-IoT/LTE-M series of LPWAN technologies. More importantly, it will further achieve the mature application of passive iot technologies. To realize the vision of large-scale connection. Furthermore, in the author's view, whether 6G will introduce the "Light 6G" technology that rivals the eMBB and uRLLC capabilities of 5G, further optimizing and replacing the communication support in existing Internet of Things scenarios, may become an important direction for discussion.
The massive communication scenarios are essentially tailor-made for the Internet of Things (iot). Through technological evolution, 6G will cover a wider range of iot application requirements. In the future, there may be high-density deployment of sensors in smart cities, and a large number of production equipment in industrial environments need to be effectively perceived. Coupled with the ubiquitous perception brought by passive Internet of Things at extremely low costs.
2. Ubiquitous Connectivity: Eliminating the "Connection Blind Spots" in the Internet of Things
6G achieves seamless global coverage through an integrated space-ground network architecture, completely solving the connection problems of Internet of Things devices in remote areas. The 6G space-air integrated network can achieve the deep integration of space-based (high orbit/medium orbit/low orbit satellites), space-based (near-airport/high-altitude/low-altitude aircraft) and ground-based (cellular /WiFi/ wired) networks, forming an integrated space-air-ground network that covers densely populated areas, as well as wide-area three-dimensional coverage in remote regions, at sea and in the air and space. Meet the ubiquitous coverage requirements of the entire surface and three-dimensional space, all day long, and provide users with ubiquitous communication services. Among them, the evolution of IoT-NTN technology will be the key for 6G to achieve ubiquitous connection. The first version of the IoT-NTN standard was completed in the 3GPP R17 stage, and currently, many manufacturers have achieved commercial use based on this standard. Iot-ntn is in continuous evolution. In the future 6G era, it will be endowed with more functions. The integrated air and space services will become more mature, enabling IoT devices to maintain communication in any geographical environment and truly achieving ubiquitous connections. Meanwhile, interoperability is a key technical capability of 6G, emphasizing the inclusiveness and transparency of wireless interfaces and promoting seamless communication among iot devices of different technical standards.
Ii. Experience: Ultimate performance brings about a new way of production and life
Immersive communication and ultra-reliable low-latency communication can be said to be technical means that support applications that require higher communication performance, and can bring unprecedented experiences.
Immersive Communication: Expanding the "Interaction Dimension" of the Internet of Things
Although immersive communication is mainly targeted at consumer-level applications, Internet of Things (iot) devices, as data collection and interaction terminals, provide core support for scenarios such as the metaverse that have been popular in the past few years. 6G can be regarded as a technology born for the metaverse. Some of its high-performance Internet of Things devices can collect user movements, environmental information, etc., and achieve real-time synchronization of virtual avatars and the construction of digital twin models in the metaverse. In the industrial metaverse, the production data collected by Internet of Things (iot) devices can generate high-precision digital twin models, providing a data foundation for virtual debugging and remote control.
Meanwhile, some high-performance Internet of Things (iot) devices can collect multi-sensory data such as vision, hearing, and touch, providing rich content for immersive experiences. It can be said that immersive communication scenarios extend the Internet of Things from "data transmission" to "interactive experience", and high-performance Internet of Things devices become the bridge connecting the physical world and the virtual world. Through the collection and transmission of multimodal data, physical data support is provided for immersive experiences, achieving a deep integration of the virtual and the real.
2. Ultra-reliable low-latency communication: Enabling high-performance Internet of Things to truly achieve "real-time response"
The ITU requires that the end-to-end latency of 6G be reduced to 0.1 to 1 millisecond, and the reliability reach 1 to 10(-5) to 1 to 10(-7). This indicator directly meets the delay-sensitive demands of iot applications such as industrial automation and telemedicine, and also provides core support for the ultra-low latency requirements of consumer-level applications like immersive cloud XR, as well as some real-time control and collaborative operations. In artificial intelligence application scenarios such as embodied intelligence, the demand for real-time interaction of robots is extremely urgent. For instance, external communication requires reliable wireless communication channels to support collaboration, task execution and feedback among robots. Ultra-high reliability and low latency features will become the key guarantee for such applications.
Iii. Intelligence: AI becomes the native capability of 6G Internet of Things
The integration of artificial intelligence and communication, as well as the integration of communication and sensing, can be regarded as manifestations of the deep integration of 6G and AI. In the context of the Internet of Things, the changes brought about by the native capabilities of AI can also be felt.
1. Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Communication: Endowing the Internet of Things with an "Intelligent brain"
6G deeply integrates AI capabilities into the core of the network, supporting distributed data processing and learning. At present, edge AI has become an important focus in the field of the Internet of Things, and this direction will be fully reflected in the 6G era. Iot devices can perform AI model inference at edge nodes, transmitting only critical data to reduce bandwidth usage. Meanwhile, federated learning technology may enable Internet of Things (iot) devices to jointly train AI models without sharing raw data, effectively protecting data privacy. This architecture is highly consistent with the requirements of embodied intelligence. The model algorithm iteration of embodied intelligent terminals requires multimodal data support. The AI fusion capability of 6G can achieve efficient data interaction between the cloud and the terminal while ensuring data security.
By analyzing the massive data generated by Internet of Things (iot) devices through edge AI, it is possible to predict device failures in advance and make autonomous decisions, endowing the iot with an "intelligent brain" and promoting its upgrade from "passive perception" to "active decision-making". Internet of Things (iot) devices are no longer merely data collection terminals but intelligent nodes with analytical and decision-making capabilities. They can autonomously adjust their behaviors in response to environmental changes and user demands, achieving true "intelligent interconnection of all things".
2. Integrated communication and sensing: Enhance the environmental perception capability of the Internet of Things
Perception itself is an important capability of the Internet of Things. The 6G integrated communication and sensing technology enables Internet of Things (iot) devices to have both communication and sensing capabilities. By sharing hardware resources and spectrum resources, it can achieve dual functions on a single set of radio equipment, effectively reducing equipment costs and improving spectrum utilization. The integrated technology of communication and sensing will expand the perception dimension of the Internet of Things, break the functional boundaries of devices, and significantly enhance the practicality and deployment efficiency of devices.
The improvement of perception capabilities is itself an important component of artificial intelligence. Therefore, the integration of perception and communication can also be regarded to a certain extent as a manifestation of enhancing the native AI capabilities of 6G networks. As the two essential capabilities of the Internet of Things (iot), perception and communication, driven by AI capabilities, will further achieve real-time decision-making and analysis of synesthesia data, and further enhance the intelligence level of the iot.
In summary, the Internet of Things remains a core application area in the 6G era. Through technological breakthroughs in six major application scenarios, 6G will comprehensively enhance the connection capabilities, user experience and intelligence level of the Internet of Things. From the perspective of technological evolution logic, 6G will inherit 5G Internet of Things (iot) technology and develop new directions, providing more flexible and efficient connection options for iot devices. In the future, with the gradual improvement of 6G standards and the rapid development of the industry, the Internet of Things will enter a new era of all-round intelligence, providing important support for the digital economy and the intelligent transformation of society.
