ETHER – sElf-evolving terrestrial/non-Terrestrial Hybrid nEtwoRks

ETHER旨在为地面-非地面综合网络提供一种全面的方法，目标是实现100%的网络覆盖率、99.99999%的服务连续性和99.99999%的可靠性，与目前的地面部署相比，能源效率提高3倍，总拥有成本降低95%。为了实现这些目标，ETHER开发了统一无线接入网络（RAN）解决方案，并在地面、空中和太空领域实现了节能、人工智能支持的资源管理，同时制定了推动该领域未来投资的商业计划。为此，ETHER在独特的3D多层架构主张下引入并结合了一系列关键技术，汇集了：i)用于在综合网络中直接手持接入的UE天线设计和实现，ii)稳健的统一波形，iii)节能无缝的水平和垂直切换策略，iv)零接触管理和网络编排器，以自适应快速发展的交通状况，无需人为干预，v)灵活的有效载荷系统，以实现空中和空间层的可编程性，vi)联合通信。针对端到端网络性能优化的计算和存储资源分配解决方案，利用高效和新颖的预测分析方案，以及vii)结合边缘计算和缓存的节能语义感知信息处理技术，以减少分布式3D计算和存储连续体的延迟。

ETHER aims to provide a holistic approach for integrated terrestrial-non-terrestrial networks targeting at 100% network coverage, 99.99999% service continuity and 99.99999% reliability, with 3 times higher energy efficiency and 95% Total Cost of Ownership reduction compared to current terrestrial only deployments. To achieve these goals, ETHER develops solutions for a Unified Radio Access Network (RAN) and for the energy-efficient, AI-enabled resource management across the terrestrial, aerial and space domains, while creating the business plans driving future investments in the area. To that end, ETHER introduces and combines a series of key technologies under a unique 3D multi-layered architectural proposition that brings together: i) a UE antenna design and implementation for direct handheld access in the integrated network, ii) a robust unified waveform, iii) energy-efficient seamless horizontal and vertical handover policies, iv) a zero-touch management and network orchestrator to self-adapt to rapidly evolving traffic conditions without human intervention, v) a flexible payload system to enable programmability in the aerial and space layers, vi) joint communication, compute and storage resource allocation solutions targeting at End-to-End network performance optimization leveraging efficient and novel predictive analytics schemes, and vii) energy-efficient semantics-aware information handling techniques combined with edge computing and caching for reduced latency across the distributed 3D compute and storage continuum.