The KICK-OFF of 6G Research Worldwide: An Overview

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state, key technologies, and future vision of 6G research, serving as a foundational guide for researchers entering the field.

Contribution

It offers a detailed summary of global 6G research initiatives, technological advancements, and future outlooks, marking the beginning of 6G exploration.

Findings

Summarizes current 6G research programs worldwide

Identifies key technologies for 6G development

Provides a future vision of 6G capabilities

Abstract

The fifth-generation (5G) mobile system is now being deployed across the world and the scale of 5G subscribers is growing quickly in many countries. The attention of academia and industry is increasingly shifting towards the sixth generation (6G) and many pioneering works are being kicked off, indicating an important milestone in the history of 6G. At this juncture, an overview of the current state of the art of 6G research and a vision of future communications are of great interest. This paper thus investigates up-to-date 6G research programs, ambitions, and main viewpoints of representative countries, institutions, and companies worldwide. Then, the key technologies are outlined and a vision on ``What 6G may look like?" is provided. This paper aims to serve as an enlightening guideline for interested researchers to quickly get an overview when kicking off their 6G research.