Session overview
Diving into 6G with Digital Twins
6G is envisioned to reshape the way networks and applications are built and operated. This session brings together research on 6G architectures, the data foundations that support them, and the role of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in realising new capabilities.
Digital twins provide a practical lens on these developments, allowing network behaviour and application scenarios to be modelled, simulated and evaluated before deployment.
Organisers
- Dr. Ramona Trestian London Digital Twin Research Centre, UK
- Dr. Duc To Huawei Technologies, Sweden
- Dr. Li-Ke Huang Tsinghua University, China
Topics covered
- 6G architectures and enabling network technologies
- Edge intelligence for future applications
- Big Data in 6G communication networks
- Artificial Intelligence and machine learning for telecommunications
- Digital twins applied to network design, operation and application development
Important Dates
Special session papers follow the conference submission schedule for the 28th International Conference on Telecommunications, held on 1-3 June 2021.
| Milestone | Description |
|---|---|
| Paper submission | Submitted through the conference submission system. |
| Conference dates | 1-3 June 2021, held as a virtual conference. |
Submission Guidelines
Authors interested in this special session should follow the general author instructions and the call for special sessions, which cover paper preparation, formatting and review criteria for the conference.
For full instructions, see the Submissions section of the conference website.
Interested in contributing? The submissions page carries the call for papers, workshops, tutorials and special sessions, together with the author instructions for ICT 2021.
Special sessions at ICT 2021 bring together focused panels and invited contributions that extend beyond the regular technical programme. These sessions are designed around timely, rapidly evolving themes in telecommunications, giving participants a place to engage with specialised research questions, debate emerging practice, and hear perspectives that are not always represented in the main paper tracks. Sessions are typically proposed by members of the technical community and reviewed as part of the conference's submission and selection process, ensuring a coherent and credible programme of discussion for an international audience.
One such session looks at how 6G concepts intersect with digital twin technologies. The theme considers how future network architectures may pair edge intelligence, big data analytics and artificial intelligence with faithful virtual representations of physical systems and services. Discussion of this kind is increasingly relevant as connected environments grow more complex, and as operators and researchers look to networked sensing, software-defined infrastructure and intelligent automation as foundations for next-generation communication systems.
Other areas that special sessions commonly address include wireless signal processing, coding techniques, MIMO and channel characterisation, network slicing, and the design of software-defined and emerging network architectures. Presenters are encouraged to submit original, technically rigorous contributions, and accepted material is typically reflected in the conference proceedings alongside the main technical papers. The overall aim is to surface visionary ideas and future directions in telecommunications while remaining firmly grounded in reproducible, well-described research.
The conference itself takes place over three days in London, hosted in a format that has continued to accommodate both in-person and virtual participation, with tutorials, workshops and keynote addresses complementing the paper sessions and special sessions. Bringing together authors, speakers and attendees from across the field, the event aims to promote collaboration and to connect researchers, engineers and practitioners working on the communication technologies that underpin a smart, connected world.