Ericsson, IIT Kharagpur ink research collaboration on AI, compute, radio for 6G

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson and IIT Kharagpur have signed a long-term cooperation for joint research in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), Compute and Radio.

To this extent, both organisations have signed two agreements that will allow researchers from Ericsson and IIT Kharagpur to collaborate on developing “novel AI and distributed Compute technology towards 6G research”.

Ericsson said that AI and Compute Research are instrumental to its 6G networks as the compute offload needs to be managed dynamically at the edge and the policies would primarily be driven by AI.

“In the commitment towards Digital India and making India the hub of technological innovation, this collaboration with Ericsson will be effective for next-generation technology significantly. 6G networks integrated with artificial intelligence will enable AI-powered applications to run faster and more efficiently,” said Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director of IIT Kharagpur.

In the 6G era, Kumar said that IIT Kharagpur aims to contribute to radio access technology and network, core network, radio frequency (RF) and device technologies, VLSI design, neuromorphic signal processing, services and applications. The institute also anticipates participating in telecom standardisation process, developing test beds, prototype development and commercialisation along with training and manpower development

“This collaboration strengthens our R&D commitments in India and is pivotal to Radio, Compute and AI research. We are excited to partner with IIT Kharagpur and look forward to collaborative research in fundamental areas as well as translational research for our future network platforms,” said Magnus Frodigh, Head of Ericsson Research.

“Ericsson is well poised to lead 6G innovation and we are making significant R&D investments in India in line with our commitment to the country. Given our 5G and technology leadership, our research initiatives are geared to provide affordable network platforms for ubiquitous connectivity all across the country,” added Nitin Bansal, Managing Director of Ericsson India.