Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey
The global roll-out phase of the fifth-generation of mobile communication systems is currently underway. The industry and academia have already begun research on potential sixth-generation (6G) communication systems. The 6G communication system is anticipated to provide network connectivity for an e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2022-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9923927/ |
| _version_ | 1797989351070629888 |
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| author | Nandish P. Kuruvatti Mohammad Asif Habibi Sanket Partani Bin Han Amina Fellan Hans D. Schotten |
| author_facet | Nandish P. Kuruvatti Mohammad Asif Habibi Sanket Partani Bin Han Amina Fellan Hans D. Schotten |
| author_sort | Nandish P. Kuruvatti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global roll-out phase of the fifth-generation of mobile communication systems is currently underway. The industry and academia have already begun research on potential sixth-generation (6G) communication systems. The 6G communication system is anticipated to provide network connectivity for an extensive range of use cases in a variety of emerging vertical industries. Consequently, a new set of challenging requirements and more stringent key performance indicators have to be considered, a novel architecture has to be designed, and unique enabling technologies shall be developed in order to fulfill the technical, regulatory, and business demands of the communication service customers. These requirements place enormous pressure on the players in the telecommunications industry, including network operators, service providers, hardware suppliers, standards development organizations (SDOs), and regulatory authorities aimed at developing, standardizing, and regulating an energy-efficient, cost-effective, performing, and sustainable 6G communication ecosystem. One area of focus for 6G communication systems is the digital twin (DT) technology, which is a well-defined set of tools designed to create virtual representations of physical objects that serve as their digital counterparts. This article explores the applicability of the DT technology in the context of 6G communication systems by viewing it as a promising tool to make research, development, operation, and optimization of the next-generation communication systems highly efficient. The major contribution of this article is fivefold. Firstly, we provide critical analysis of the state-of-the-art literature in the field of DT technology in order to capture its essence in several application areas since its inception. Secondly, we conduct a comprehensive survey of the research concerning the deployment of DT technology in 6G communication systems. Thirdly, we discuss potential use cases and key areas of applications (along with detailed examples) of 6G communication systems that can benefit from DT technology. Fourthly, we present an overview of the activities of several SDOs that are active in the field of DT technology. Finally, we identify several open research challenges and future directions that need to be addressed before the end-to-end deployment of DT technology in 6G communication systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T08:17:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f9ac1a1b1944e4f846051b0a3f88f4d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T08:17:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f9ac1a1b1944e4f846051b0a3f88f4d2022-12-22T04:35:03ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-011011215811218610.1109/ACCESS.2022.32154939923927Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive SurveyNandish P. Kuruvatti0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4977-642XMohammad Asif Habibi1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9874-0047Sanket Partani2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9989-1664Bin Han3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2086-2487Amina Fellan4Hans D. Schotten5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5005-3635Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Wireless Communications and Radio Navigation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Wireless Communications and Radio Navigation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Wireless Communications and Radio Navigation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Wireless Communications and Radio Navigation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Wireless Communications and Radio Navigation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Wireless Communications and Radio Navigation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, GermanyThe global roll-out phase of the fifth-generation of mobile communication systems is currently underway. The industry and academia have already begun research on potential sixth-generation (6G) communication systems. The 6G communication system is anticipated to provide network connectivity for an extensive range of use cases in a variety of emerging vertical industries. Consequently, a new set of challenging requirements and more stringent key performance indicators have to be considered, a novel architecture has to be designed, and unique enabling technologies shall be developed in order to fulfill the technical, regulatory, and business demands of the communication service customers. These requirements place enormous pressure on the players in the telecommunications industry, including network operators, service providers, hardware suppliers, standards development organizations (SDOs), and regulatory authorities aimed at developing, standardizing, and regulating an energy-efficient, cost-effective, performing, and sustainable 6G communication ecosystem. One area of focus for 6G communication systems is the digital twin (DT) technology, which is a well-defined set of tools designed to create virtual representations of physical objects that serve as their digital counterparts. This article explores the applicability of the DT technology in the context of 6G communication systems by viewing it as a promising tool to make research, development, operation, and optimization of the next-generation communication systems highly efficient. The major contribution of this article is fivefold. Firstly, we provide critical analysis of the state-of-the-art literature in the field of DT technology in order to capture its essence in several application areas since its inception. Secondly, we conduct a comprehensive survey of the research concerning the deployment of DT technology in 6G communication systems. Thirdly, we discuss potential use cases and key areas of applications (along with detailed examples) of 6G communication systems that can benefit from DT technology. Fourthly, we present an overview of the activities of several SDOs that are active in the field of DT technology. Finally, we identify several open research challenges and future directions that need to be addressed before the end-to-end deployment of DT technology in 6G communication systems.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9923927/5Gbeyond 5G6Gautomationcommunication systemsdigital twinning |
| spellingShingle | Nandish P. Kuruvatti Mohammad Asif Habibi Sanket Partani Bin Han Amina Fellan Hans D. Schotten Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey IEEE Access 5G beyond 5G 6G automation communication systems digital twinning |
| title | Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_full | Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_fullStr | Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_short | Empowering 6G Communication Systems With Digital Twin Technology: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_sort | empowering 6g communication systems with digital twin technology a comprehensive survey |
| topic | 5G beyond 5G 6G automation communication systems digital twinning |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9923927/ |
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