Start time: November 1st , 2020 End time: October 31th, 2022
ANChOR (dAta-driven Network Controller and Orchestrator for Real-time network management) project is funded by ESA in the frame of the Advanced Technology (AT) ARTES program. The project is led by Nextworks srl and NITEL provides support and how-how in the frame of the satellite communications and architectures, 5G architectures and use-cases and testbed deployment.
The main project objective is to design, prototype and validate a Management and Network Orchestration platform (MANO) for end-to-end and real-time provisioning and lifecycle management of network slices and services in integrated 5G Satellite-Terrestrial networks.
Satellite segments orchestrated as part of the overall 5G infrastructure shall exploit the NFV paradigm to dynamically instantiate satellite control functions and meet the dynamic requirements of vertical services.
In more details, Satellite-based extensions are proposed and developmed in compliancy to reference 5G architecture and use cases, targeting eMBB and mMTC services and network slices. Then, AI/ML solutions based on the zero-touch paradigm are addressed for automated config of satellite functions.
Finally, ANChOR foresees a test platform for the evaluation of the proposed solutions, allowing:
- Over-the-Air tests for geostationary (GEO) backhauling scenarios
- NR simulator for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) access modelling, for satellite NarrowBand – Internet of Thing (NB-IoT) configuration
In the frame of the overall ANChOR project, the NITEL research unit plays a central role in the design of the network architectures and applications, tailored to fruitfully exploit the advantages of AI/ML techniques. In addition, NITEL supports the implementation of a test platform for the evaluation of virtualized satellite technologies involved in the provision of end-to-end 5G services.
