H2020Doctoral network2019–2023

REAL-NET · REAL-time monitoring and mitigation of nonlinear effects in optical NETworks

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration: 2019-01-01 → 2023-06-30
EU contribution: €1,657,759
Participants: 6
Scheme: MSCA-ITN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

REAL-time monitoring and mitigation of nonlinear effects in optical NETworks

The REAL-NET project addressed the "nonlinear capacity crunch" in optical transmission systems, which affected reliable high-speed internet vital for a digital society. It aimed to devise AI-based solutions for sturdier optical systems, train ESRs in machine learning and optical engineering, and pivot the telecom industry from hardware to software using innovative optical tools. The project reached all its research and training objectives, enhancing the telecom sector and the wider digital economy. It equipped six ESRs with skills that enhanced their industry employability. As the Optical Communication Systems & Components sector is expected to grow by 8% annually, REAL-NET's achievements positioned Europe at the forefront of telecom advancements. The pandemic highlighted the crucial role of robust internet in sectors like education and healthcare, emphasizing the project's societal importance.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The exponential surge in the global data traffic driven by the skyrocketing proliferation of different bandwidth-hungry on-line services, such as: cloud computing, on-demand HD video streams, on-line business analytics and content sharing, sensor networks, machine-to-machine traffic arising from data-centre applications, the Internet of Things, and various other broadband services, brings about the escalating pressure on the speed (capacity) and quality (bit error rate) characteristics of information systems. It is well recognized nowadays that rapidly increasing data rates in the core fibre communication systems are quickly approaching the limits of current transmission technologies, many of which were originally developed for communication over linear (e.g. radio) channels. It is widely accepted that the nonlinear transmission effects in optical fibre represent now a major limiting factor in modern fibre-optic communication systems. Nonlinear properties make optical fibre channels considerably different from wireless and other traditional linear communications channels. There is a clear need for development of radically different methods for coding, transmission, and (pre & post) processing of information that take the nonlinear properties of the optical fibre into account and for training of a new generation of engineers with expertise in: optical communications, nonlinear science methods, digital signal processing (DSP), design of implementable algorithms. From the industry perspectives, design of practical and implementable processing algorithms requires knowledge of ASICs and real world conditions and restrictions. The mutli-national & multi-interdisciplinary REAL-NET project will provide timely doctoral training for 6 PhD students through industry relevant research in the fast growing area of high practical relevance and will lead to development of novel practically implementable disruptive techniques for fibre-optic communications.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

ASTON UNIVERSITY · BirminghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
CORIANT R&D GMBH · StuttgartGermany
INFINERA UNIPESSOAL LDA · CARNAXIDEPortugal
INSTITUT MINES-TELECOM · PalaiseauFrance
ORANGE SA · Issy-les-MoulineauxFrance
UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA · BARCELONASpain

REAL-NET · REAL-time monitoring and mitigation of nonlinear effects in optical NETworks

Results in brief

REAL-time monitoring and mitigation of nonlinear effects in optical NETworks

Project objective

Participants

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