5G internet has recently become a reality in Brazil and educational and research institutions are already preparing for the future. Last Monday, 5 December of 2022, the Network Engineering and Intelligent Services Research Center was opened for 2030. The proposal is to explore innovations and solutions in telecommunications through planning the 6G network throughout this decade.
Furthermore, research includes improving 5G, which completed its first installation stage in October, arriving at 27 Brazilian capitals. The initiative involves researchers and representatives from Fapesp (São Paulo State Research Support Fund), from Unicamp (State University of Campinas) and the company Ericsson Telecommunications.
The center, called Smartness, is located on the Campinas campus and will be an experiment base for projection solutions and construction of cloud computer infrastructure and cognitive networks using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.
Unprecedented initiative
This research center is an unprecedented initiative in Latin America. With agreement since the first semester, The project will last for 10 years and will have 50 specialists in the fields of electrical engineering, telecommunications and computing, among others.
Like this, the research will feature professors and researchers from FEEC and IC (Unicamp Computing Institute). Ericsson's chief researcher, Maria Valéria Marquezini, will be the deputy director of the initiative. Smartess itself is part of the Fapesp Engineering Research Center Program, which aims to encourage partnerships between research centers, educational institutions and companies focused on technological innovation.
The agreement has long-term financing in the amount of R$ 56 million. Ericsson and Fapesp are responsible for allocating R$ 14 million each for the work. Unicamp allocated R$ 28 millions for the initiative in the form of salaries to reimburse researchers, support team, as well as infrastructure and facilities.
Partnerships and new talents
Over time, The implementations and solutions obtained from the research will serve as a technological base for the country. Research focusing on technological innovations and 6G may be published and international partnerships should be signed.
Furthermore, a major objective of the research center is to foster the talent pool through the initiative. Ericsson's head of research in Brazil, Matthew Santos, detailed the importance and differences of the center for Brazilian technology.
“A state-of-the-art research hub in the area of telecommunications and computer networks, focusing on developing advanced mobile connectivity services from different industry perspectives, academia and society, strengthening Brazil's protagonism and expanding its competitiveness”, highlighted Santos.
