The foreseen exponential growth of mobile data traffic will not be uniform across geographical areas, but is mainly concentrated in hot spots that are usually located in the built environments (BEs) such as central business districts, stations, airports, stadiums, dense urban environments, etc. This poses considerable challenges that we believe can be solved by ultra dense deployment of millimetre-wave (mmW) small-cells (SCs) in conjunction with massive multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) in 5G and beyond 5G (B5G) wireless networks. However, there are a number of research challenges that need to be addressed for a successful deployment of 5G/B5G wireless networks: even if the theoretical background of massive MIMO is by now rather complete, the actual performance characterization and measurements of mmW antenna arrays has not yet been fully addressed at either the component or system level; mmW radio channel measurements have been performed but with limited time delay resolution, single antennas and over single radio links; and mmW bands have been considered for mobile communications, but the level of detail and diversity of BEs necessary for meaningful mmW SC deployment has not been fully exploited. Therefore, we propose here a research approach that combines the three disruptive key enabling technologies for 5G/B5G with the aim to answer fundamental questions that are still not well understood. Hence, the research objectives of the project are as follows: • Develop and test mmW MIMO and massive MIMO antennas. • Characterize and model radio propagation channel at mmW bands for typical BEs (offices, homes, stations, airports). • Theoretically analyse and optimise massive MIMO mmW SC performance in the BEs. • Integrate massive MIMO mmW SC networks with their operating environments. • Develop methods to retrofit existing buildings and to design new buildings for efficient high-capacity wireless communications in the BEs.

It is predicted that wireless network traffic will increase 1000 times in the next decade. The exponential traffic growth is not uniform across geographical areas and mainly takes place in indoor hot spots. Hence, high capacity indoor venues represent the biggest network capacity increase challenge. The recently emerged 3D MIMO technology provides a promising dimension to provide extra capacity gain in hot spots. In particular, the 3D deployment of small cells (SCs) equipped with 3D MIMO antenna arrays will take advantage of 3D distribution of user equipment (UE) in typical high capacity venues, and represents an excellent technical combination to address the indoor high capacity challenge. The 3D deployment of SCs with 3D MIMO antenna arrays faces technical challenges ranging from 3D MIMO antenna array design, performance evaluation, the lack of understanding of 3D MIMO SC network performance limits to the optimal 3D SC network deployment. The is3DMIMO project aims to address these technical challenges by assembling a team of four partners in the UK, Sweden and China with complementary expertise. During the project, the is3DMIMO consortium aims to achieve the following objectives: • characterize and model indoor 3D MIMO channels for typical indoor environments; • develop a reliable OTA antenna characterization method for 3D MIMO SCs; • characterize OTA performance in laboratory conditions as compared to real-life 3D MIMO small cell scenarios; • obtain fundamental understanding of the network performance gains achievable by 3D SCs with 3D MIMO antenna arrays; • develop techniques for jointly optimizing the deployment locations of SC access points (APs) and their 3D MIMO configurations; and • provide 3D MIMO SC network planning and deployment guidelines for typical 3D indoor scenarios. The achievement of the above objectives will provide crucial inputs for multiple-antenna and 5G/B5G system design, and will increase network capacity in indoor hot spots by 20-30%.

The imminent need of deploying advanced communication and autonomous driving capabilities in vehicles is turning the race towards the realization of the so called fifth generation new radio (5G NR) networks into a real odyssey for the European automotive industry. The challenges arising from the coexistence of MIMO systems on vehicles, the growing number of sensors and radars and cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) in the realm of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications are piling up. Many of them have not been solved yet due to the lack of qualified personnel with joint expertise in communications and sensing technologies. Thus, the acute need of the proposed ITN-5VC project, a European Industrial Doctorate (EID) training network, arises. ITN-5VC aims to investigate the key problems of the integration of multi-band multi-antenna communications, including mmWave, with radar heads and other wireless sensors into the same telematics unit, so that transmission chains and radiation systems were efficiently reused in a cost-efficient manner while delivering the required performance. Multiple antenna deployment, joint operation and performance of the resulting automotive solution will be investigated by 11 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) working with top industrial manufacturers and academia in Europe. The training will tackle three main topics: • Vehicular communications integrated with radar sensors for the sake of simplified telematics. • Improved antenna and phased array technology deployment on the vehicle’s body or surface. • Efficient protocol integration on V2X-specific system on chips for joint communication and sensing deployment on vehicles. ITN-5VC will apply a new training Programme that follows the EU principles for Innovative Doctoral Training. Additionally, ITN-5VC training will apply short term missions, periodic challenges and an ECTS credit competition to boost the participation and engagement of the students to the Programme.

Our society is on the brink of a new age with the development of new visionary concepts such as internet of things, smart cities, autonomous driving and smart industries. This stimulates the use of the millimetre-wave frequencies up to 100 GHz to support much higher data rates and to increase the capacity of mobile wireless communication systems. For achieving this, new system concepts such as Distributed Massive Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (DM-MIMO) in which instead of a single base-station, the cell is covered by multiple remote antenna stations, all connected to a central unit. To overcome existing limitations, such as poor power efficiency and poor signal quality, we propose to investigate an innovative antenna system concept utilizing both silicon and III-V semiconductor technologies, advanced signal processing concepts and radio-over-fibre interconnect between a central unit and the remote antenna stations. As current doctoral trainings are lagging behind in training researchers with the right skillset to resolve future wireless communication challenges, an EID is urgently needed. MyWAVE establishes a unique and well-structured training network with leading R&D labs from European industries, universities and technology institutes in the domain of wireless infrastructure and proven track-record in joint collaborations. The 15 ESRs will form a research team that is embedded in leading industrial and academic R&D labs. The programme will strongly enhance the employability and career prospects of the ESRs by offering a high-quality consortium with in-depth training in the technical areas as well as a comprehensive set of transferable skills relevant for innovation and long-term employability. The ESRs will all spend at least 18 months of their time at industry, ensuring that the training includes a significant industrial experience and application know-how. MyWAVE will result in a structural European Graduate School program organised by the consortium.