CCRI: Planning: Collaborative Proposal: Tools and Research Priority Analyses for Development of Open-Source AI-Enabled Control and Testing Framework for 6G Cellular Research

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5G (5th Generation) wireless is known for a revolution in flexibility in wireless networks. Beyond 5G and 6G will likely be known for using intelligence to capitalize on flexibility. Wireless research activities have made use of artificial intelligence (AI) in various areas, but practical implementations of AI-based algorithms in wireless networks are relatively rare. This planning project analyzes the suitability of research priorities, toolboxes, and interfaces for the development of an experimental AI-enabled 6G and testing framework to spur US and global research. The goal of this planning effort is to analyze and lay out the design and architectural foundations of a software infrastructure that would spur experimental research, development and education on 6G wireless networks.The planning project develops two unique surveys: (1) Community: to understand the high-priority research needs that the community platform should support, considering inputs from researchers, practitioners and educators in academia, industry, and government; (2) Tools: to assess existing AI algorithms, toolboxes, and how to interface them with the cellular architecture and protocol stack; and thus, propose a robust design to enable the subsequent development of a practical open-source AI enabled control and testing framework for 6G cellular research that can run on community testbeds. This planning award will provide an initial assessment of the need and potentials of a 6G research platform for use in education at Mississippi State University, Virginia Tech, and elsewhere with the goal of enhancing educational material with hands-on learning opportunities and reproducible experimental case studies. The team will reach out to industry through several means, including institutions' industry affiliation members/sponsors, the PAWR (Platform for Advanced Wireless Research) industry consortium, and the Wireless Innovation Forum. The team plans to reach out to standardization bodies and regulators to make them aware of the outcomes of this study, the envisaged research platform and potential use cases that can help support important standardization and regulatory decisions related to 6G radio access networks.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.