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This paper presents the design and development of a flexible hyper-distributed IoT–Edge–Cloud computing platform for real-time Digital Twins in real logistics and industrial environments, intended as a novel living lab and testbed for future 6G applications. It expands the limited capabilities of IoT devices with extended Cloud and Edge computing functionalities, creating an IoT–Edge–Cloud continuum platform composed of multiple stakeholder solutions, in which vertical application developers can take full advantage of the computing resources of the infrastructure. The platform is built together with a private 5G network to connect machines and sensors on a large scale. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are used to allocate computing resources for real-time services by an end-to-end intelligent orchestrator, and real-time distributed analytic tools leverage Edge computing platforms to support different types of Digital Twin applications for logistics and industry, such as immersive remote driving, with specific characteristics and features. Performance evaluations demonstrated the platform’s capability to support the high-throughput communications required for Digital Twins, achieving user-experienced rates close to the maximum theoretical values, up to 552 Mb/s for the downlink and 87.3 Mb/s for the uplink in the n78 frequency band. Moreover, the platform’s support for Digital Twins was validated via QoE assessments conducted on an immersive remote driving prototype, which demonstrated high levels of user satisfaction in key dimensions such as presence, engagement, control, sensory integration, and cognitive load.

This paper considers the transmission of scalable video via broadcast and multicast to increase spectral and energy efficiency in cellular networks. To address this problem, we study the use of generalized spatial modulation (GSM) combined with non-orthogonal hierarchical M-QAM modulations due to the capability to exploit the potential gains of large scale antenna systems and achieve high spectral and energy efficiencies. We introduce the basic idea of broadcasting/multicasting scalable video associated to GSM, and discuss the key limitations. Non-uniform hierarchical QAM constellations are used for broadcasting/multicasting scalable video while user specific messages are carried implicitly on the indexes of the active transmit antennas combinations. To deal with multiple video and dedicated user streams multiplexed on the same transmission, an iterative receiver with reduced complexity is described. 5G New Radio (NR) based link and system level results are presented. Two different ways of quadruplicating the number of broadcasting programs are evaluated and compared. Performance results show that the proposed GSM scheme is capable of achieving flexibility and energy efficiency gain over conventional multiple input multiple output (MIMO) schemes.

The fifth generation (5G) of mobile radio technologies has been defined as a new delivery model where services are tailored to specific vertical industries. 5G supports three types of services with different and heterogeneous requirements, i.e. enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC). These services are directly related to exemplary verticals such as media, vehicular communications or the Industry 4.0. This work provides a detailed analysis and performance evaluation of 5G New Radio (NR) against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI), as defined in the International Mobile Telecommunications 2020 (IMT-2020) guidelines, and provides an overview about the fulfillment of their associated requirements. The objective of this work is to provide an independent evaluation, complementing the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) contribution. From the original group of sixteen KPIs, eleven of them have been carefully selected, paying special attention to eMBB services. Results show that 5G NR achieves all considered requirements, therefore fulfilling the specific market's needs for years to come.