SLICES will use general purpose computer clusters with special network and communication equipment to enable advanced network and wireless communication and protocols. SLICES nodes will use Open Source Software to enable cloud services (such as OpenStack or CloudStack), container platforms (primary Kubernetes), SDN and NFV for programmable networking.
When experimenting with AI/ML and DigitalTwins, SLICES will use open data collections, but primary goal of the SLICES-RI is to produce own data sets that can be used for training intelligent network and infrastructure protocol and services.
SLICES will allow researcher and industry to question scientific challenges regarding the future technologies and services. They will be based on a technology roadmap that will be consolidated on the basis of the analysis of several inputs provided by the community as for instance developed by the EU EMPOWER project regarding the wireless technology advances, that are pertinent to the evolution of new radio (NR) over the next decade 2020-2030.
A non-exhaustive list of research directions enabled by using SLICES is provided below:
● Advanced wireless networking
o New waveforms;
o Higher frequencies up to THz;
o Spectrum and wireless management;
o Integrated sensing and communication;
o Multiple heterogeneous radio management;
● Smart/intelligent infrastructure operation and management
o Cloud based and cloud enabled, on-demand provisioning, optimisation;
o Advanced protocols and architecture (virtualization, softwerisation, programmability);
o AI applied to infrastructure operation and optimisation at all layers;
o Generation of data to train algorithms; Digital twin for scientific object/processes;
o Distribution of intelligence into the Edge of the network;
● Design and validation of new Edge/Fog infrastructures
o Software and components deployment
o Distributed resource management
o Geo-distributed data management
o Federated deep-learning
● Advanced functionalities
o Power consumption and energy efficiency;
o Security and privacy; trustworthiness by design;
o New security issues and challenges that arise from the verticals and the ubiquitous network;
o Interoperability, composable infrastructure services on-demand (RI as a Service). Seamless user experiences across technologies and domains.