So far, the Internet of Things (IoT) is narrowband with no latency constraints. A wider range of applications is envisioned for industrial manufacturing, augmented reality and autonomous cars. It makes use of artificial intelligence, where compute functions will be offloaded from devices into the cloud. Accordingly, future IoT will need wireless links with high data rates, low latency and reliable connectivity despite the limited radio spectrum. Connected lighting is an interesting infrastructure for IoT services because it enables visible light communication (VLC), i.e. a wireless communication using unlicensed light spectrum. LED luminaires have enough modulation bandwidth for high data rates and each luminaire can be used as a wireless access point. Networked VLC-enhanced luminaires will add new features to build a wireless network for the IoT. ELIOT will start from existing prototypes and develop the support for IoT services. The project will integrate the lighting infrastructure with VLC and add positioning, multicast communications and enhanced security. ELIOT will demonstrate the new infrastructure in real environments at TRL ≥6 and mobile IoT devices at TRL ≥ 4. Main project goals are to provide an open reference architecture for the support of IoT in the lighting infrastructure, build consensus reflecting the best architectural choices, contribute to standardization of lighting and telecom infrastructures in IEC, IETF, IEEE and ITU-T and provide a roadmap for IoT until 2022 and beyond. ELIOT brings together Europe’s key players that cover the whole value chain, i.e. OSRAM, Philips Lighting and Tridonic as major component and luminaire makers, Maxlinear as chipmaker, NOKIA as a leading network vendor and integrator, BMW, Weidmüller and Thyssen Krupp working on industrial IoT, Deutsche Telekom and KPN as innovative operators, together with Fraunhofer HHI as a leading research institute and two top universities from Eindhoven and Oxford.

The expected obsolescence of GSM-R and the need to enable digitalisation in train operations has led the European railway sector to set a global plan for the definition of a new radio system, the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), as presented in the EU-Rail System Pillar Report on FRMCS V2 and V3 Scope and Planning (ref. SPG-STG-D-SPG-076-01). A key part of this plan is the delivery by UIC, in the frame of its FRMCS Program, of the FRMCS V3 specifications, also named “FRMCS 1st Edition”, corresponding to the first implementable version of the new system, for their inclusion in a new CCS-TSI in 2027. Starting from the final UIC FRMCS V2 Specifications & V3 target requirements, expected by December 2024 as a result of the ERA EECT process, there will be consequently a need to verify, complete or amend these V2 Specifications & V3 target requirements through a full testing of FRMCS functions and system, leading then to market ready V3 Specifications. This operational testing is precisely the objective of FP2-MORANE-2 (MObile radio for RAilway Networks in Europe). The first step of the testing activities will be achieved in 3 different labs, run by Ericsson, Nokia and Kontron. They will be followed by 5 different field tests, operated on two railway tracks from ADIF, one from DB, one from TRAFIKVERKET and one from PRORAIL. 4 of these lines are conventional, the 5th, in ADIF network, being a high-speed line. The PRORAIL line will welcome a MNO, KPN. The FP2-MORANE-2 project, coordinated by UIC, takes advantage of the participation of 13 European railways, from which 7 will act as associated partners. It regroups the expertise of 13 product manufacturers, all recognised as key players in the FRMCS domain, and finally benefits from the contribution of UNIFE. Conceived as a continuation of all previous FRMCS activities, such as Horizon 2020 5GRAIL prototyping project or EU-Rail R2DATO FRMCS-related work packages, FP2-MORANE-2 will set the way for FRMCS deployments in Europe, as its predecessor MORANE did for GSM-R 20 years ago.

The Triangulum project will demonstrate how a systems innovation approach based around the European Commission’s SCC Strategic Implementation Plan can drive dynamic smart city development. We will test the SIP across three lighthouse cities: Manchester, Eindhoven and Stavanger, which represent the main typologies of European cities. They will be complemented by our follower cities Prague, Leipzig and Sabadell. This powerful combination reflects an urban population of between 100k and 1,2m inhabitants across six different countries, allowing us to demonstrate successful replication across a wide range of typical urban areas in Europe. Each city has already made significant progress towards the transition of becoming a smart city; developing their own individual approach reflecting specific local circumstances. These inherent strengths will now serve to accelerate the smart city development across proposed demonstration sites within Triangulum. The suite of projects developed will be based around zero/low energy districts, integrated infrastructures and sustainable urban mobility designed to deliver a range of cross-cutting outcomes across different sectors and stakeholders. This will provide the basis to ‘road test’ the SIP and provide recommendations to the Commission on how it could be improved to facilitate wider replication. The Triangulum goals target a series of direct impacts around; reduced energy consumption of buildings, increased use of renewable energies, increased utilisation of electric vehicles, deployment of intelligent energy management technologies and the deployment of an adaptive and dynamic ICT data hub. The design and implementation of innovative Business Models and the activation of citizens as co-creators are core cross-cutting elements to base the technologies in real-world city environments and facilitate replication.

5G adv. and 6G aim to expand the set of supported verticals and provide enhanced capabilities beyond connectivity. 5G CAM vertical services are a broad range of services in and around vehicles, including both safety-related and other services enabled or supported by 5G. 5GS has been built as a modular architecture to support any vertical running on top in a vertical-agnostic manner. However, it is realized that certain verticals (like CAM) have specific and strict requirements. Although significant progress has been made in supporting verticals, the corresponding necessary configuration of the network and end-devices is a time-consuming manual process that requires tight coordination at technical and business levels across the verticals, the vendors, the network operator, and even the end-users. This hinders not only the greater adoption of 5GS but also the uptake of novel CAM UCs and the modernization of existing ones that require a tighter integration with the underlying network. The main objective of ENVELOPE is to advance and open up the reference 5G adv. architecture, and also to transform it into a vertical-oriented with the necessary interfaces tailored to the CAM UCs that i) expose network capabilities to verticals, ii) provide vertical-information to the network; iii) enable verticals to dynamically request and modify certain network aspects in an open, transparent and easy to use, semi-automated way. ENVELOPE aims to deliver 3 large-scale B5G trial sites in Italy, Netherlands and Greece for CAM services and beyond, implementing functionalities tailored to the CAM services and advanced exposure capabilities. Although focused on the CAM vertical, the resulting developments will be reusable by any vertical. The ENVELOPE architecture will serve as an envelope that can cover, accommodate and support any type of vertical services. The applicability of ENVELOPE capabilities will be demonstrated via the project CAM UCs and via at least 9 open call projects.

The overall objective of 5G-Blueprint is to design and validate a technical architecture, business and governance model for uninterrupted cross-border teleoperated transport based on 5G connectivity. 5G-Blueprint will explore and define: - The economics of 5G tools in cross border transport & logistics as well as passenger transport: bringing CAPEX and OPEX into view, both on the supply (Telecom) side and on the demand (Transport & Logistics) side for transformation of current business practices as well as new value propositions - The Governance issues and solutions pertaining to responsibilities and accountability within the value chain dependent on cross border connectivity and seamless services relating to the Dutch & Belgian regulatory framework (telecommunications, traffic and CAM experimentation laws, contracts, value chain management) - Tactical and operational (pre-) conditions that need to be in place to get full value of 5G tooled transport & logistics. This includes implementing use cases that increase cooperative awareness to guarantee safe and responsible tele-operated transport - Preparing and piloting tele-operated and tele-monitored transport on roadways and waterways to alleviate the increasing shortage of manpower and bring transport and logistics on a higher level of efficiency through data sharing in the supply chain and use of AI. - Exploring the possibilities of increasing the volume of freight being transported during the night where excess physical infrastructure capacity is abundant; the lowering of personnel costs would make this feasible on a cost effective basis - Tele-operation will be enabled by the following 5G qualities, such as low latency, reliable connectivity and high bandwidth that current 4G LTE cannot deliver sufficiently. The project’s outcome will be the blueprint for subsequent operational pan-European deployment of teleoperated transport solutions in the logistics sector and beyond.