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Enabling Communication and Control Co-Design in 6G Networks

Onur Ayan, Nikolaos Pappas, Miguel Angel Gutierrez Estevez, Xueli An, Wolfgang Kellerer

TL;DR

The paper identifies a mismatch between current 5G/URLLC-centric designs and the needs of networked control systems (NCSs) for joint communication and control. It proposes a goal-oriented framework for 6G UP that introduces the Monitored Data Unit (MDU) and a Semantic Aggregation Layer (SAL) to bind control semantics to transmission via a Pub/Sub-like mechanism in the 6G RAN, enabling GO co-design. Key contributions include a formal MDU definition, the SAL architecture (Data Handler, Data Writer, Data Reader, Session Handler), and a simulation comparing publishing strategies that demonstrates improvements in the AoI and $\mathsf{LQG}$ costs for semantics-aware policies. The approach offers a practical, standards-aligned path to realize semantic and goal-oriented communications for industrial NCSs in future 6G networks.

Abstract

Networked control systems (NCSs), which are feedback control loops closed over a communication network, have been a popular research topic over the past decades. Numerous works in the literature propose novel algorithms and protocols with joint consideration of communication and control. However, the vast majority of the recent research results, which have shown remarkable performance improvements if a cross-layer methodology is followed, have not been widely adopted by the industry. In this work, we review the shortcomings of today's mobile networks that render cross-layer solutions, such as semantic and goal-oriented communications, very challenging in practice. To tackle this, we propose a new framework for 6G user plane design that simplifies the adoption of recent research results in networked control, thereby facilitating the joint communication and control design in next-generation mobile networks.

Enabling Communication and Control Co-Design in 6G Networks

TL;DR

The paper identifies a mismatch between current 5G/URLLC-centric designs and the needs of networked control systems (NCSs) for joint communication and control. It proposes a goal-oriented framework for 6G UP that introduces the Monitored Data Unit (MDU) and a Semantic Aggregation Layer (SAL) to bind control semantics to transmission via a Pub/Sub-like mechanism in the 6G RAN, enabling GO co-design. Key contributions include a formal MDU definition, the SAL architecture (Data Handler, Data Writer, Data Reader, Session Handler), and a simulation comparing publishing strategies that demonstrates improvements in the AoI and costs for semantics-aware policies. The approach offers a practical, standards-aligned path to realize semantic and goal-oriented communications for industrial NCSs in future 6G networks.

Abstract

Networked control systems (NCSs), which are feedback control loops closed over a communication network, have been a popular research topic over the past decades. Numerous works in the literature propose novel algorithms and protocols with joint consideration of communication and control. However, the vast majority of the recent research results, which have shown remarkable performance improvements if a cross-layer methodology is followed, have not been widely adopted by the industry. In this work, we review the shortcomings of today's mobile networks that render cross-layer solutions, such as semantic and goal-oriented communications, very challenging in practice. To tackle this, we propose a new framework for 6G user plane design that simplifies the adoption of recent research results in networked control, thereby facilitating the joint communication and control design in next-generation mobile networks.
Paper Structure (12 sections, 4 figures)

This paper contains 12 sections, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Existing Approaches and Limitations
  3. 5G User Plane Architecture
  4. Quality of Service (QoS) Management in 5G
  5. Communication Models Employed in Industrial Networks
  6. Shortcomings of Today's Cellular Networks
  7. A Goal-Oriented Framework for NCSs in 6G
  8. The Monitored Data Unit
  9. 6G RAN as a Goal-Oriented Middleware
  10. Relationship to Communication and Control Co-design
  11. Performance Evaluation
  12. Conclusion

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: A simplified architecture of 5G radio access network (RAN) and core network (CN). The user plane data from a UE to the application server is transmitted first on the uplink to gNB, from which it they are forwarded to the data network (DN) via the serving user plane function (UPF). Other important CN functions are policy control function (PCF), network exposure function (NEF), application function (AF), access and mobility management function (AMF), and session management function (SMF). We refer to 3gppts23501 for further details.
  • Figure 2: Information flow from the perspective of a Publisher in OPC UA. The publisher maintains an information model consisting of an Address Space of multiple nodes. A node corresponds to a real object whose attributes are monitored. The figure is recreated from the OPC UA specifications.
  • Figure 3: 6G RAN user plane serving as a semantics-aware middleware for time-sensitive industrial applications.
  • Figure 4: Mean Age of Information (AoI) and linear-quadratic-gaussian (LQG) cost in the network for varying number of NCS, i.e., $N$. A lower AoI and LQG indicates a higher performance w.r.t. the measured metric. Semi-transparent colored regions depict the minimum and maximum mean values throughout our simulations comprising twenty repetitions.