Digital-Twin Enabled 6G: Trends and Technologies

Dear Colleagues,

With 6G networks projected to be deployed in 2030, leveraging the gains of 5G deployments has become inevitable and calls for research attention. However, this will not come without meeting certain specifications and requirements for future 6G. Taking a cue from the lessons of 5G, especially concerning deployment, testbeds, applications, and carbon-smart demonstrations, the digital twin promises to be a critical technology. Just like the 5G networks, the 6G network will be heterogeneous and continue to support a wide range of deployments using a mix of heterogeneous technologies to fit almost any use case. 6G will target more ambitious key performance metrics such as peak data rates of 1 Tb/s, enhanced spectrum and energy efficiency, and extremely low latency communications. Many technologies will be impacted by this development. Digital twin research and technologies have advanced over the years and are projected to play a critical role in the development of 6G. The relationship between 6G and the digital twin can thus be seen as symbiotic, causative, and correlational. Digital twin employs a virtual representation of the 6G physical systems and associated algorithms to assist in the simulation and testing of multidisciplinary use cases and Internet of Everything (IoE) applications.  With digital twin-enabled 6G, it is possible to present the design requirements, architectural components, and user-defined performance metrics of the future generation of networks. However, how prepared are the underlying and enabling technologies to provide reliable and trustworthy algorithmic designs that empower and shape the performance characterizations of digital twin-enabled 6G platforms? What milestones, milieu, and momentum demand intrinsic evaluation and consideration for the accelerated achievement of soundproof, scalable, and secured digital-twin-enabled 6G networks and systems? The goal of this issue is to disseminate high-quality, demonstration-based, and promising research papers focusing on the interface of digital twins with existing network generation and projecting their impact and correlation with 6G. We solicit original papers of unpublished and completed research that is not currently under review by any other conference/magazine/journal. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, modeling and applied approaches, at various scales (from lab to field and global), including engineering aspects and multidisciplinary applications of digital-twin-enabled 6G such as the following:

1. 6G digital twin networks;
2. Novel approaches and experience in 6G communication;
3. IoT-SCADA and digital twin in 6G era;
4. Digital twin applications and solutions in 6G era;
5. 6G testbeds based on digital twin technologies;
6. NFV—network function virtualization;
7. mURLLC—massive ultra-reliable low latency communication;
8. Distributed machine learning;
9. IoE—Internet of Everything;
10. Extended reality and metaverse;
11. Blockchain for data management in 6G-enabled digital twin;
12. XAI- explainable artificial intelligence;
13. Multidisciplinary applications of digital twin;
14. Future digital twin solutions;
15. NFV-based Internet of Things;
16. Federated learning reliability;
17. 6G security;
18. Digital technologies for smart spaces (smart farms, smart homes, smart factories, etc.);
19. Quality of service (QoS);
20. Quality of user experience (QoE) in 6G.

Dr. Cosmas Ifeanyi Nwakanma
Dr. Simeon Okechukwu Ajakwe
Guest Editors

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• digital twin
• 6G digital twin networks (DTN)
• NFV—network function virtualization
• mURLLC—massive ultra-reliable low latency communication
• distributed machine learning
• IoE—Internet of Everything
• XR—extended reality
• blockchain
• XAI—explainable artificial intelligence
• future digital twin solutions
• NFV-based Internet of Things
• federated learning
• metaverse