Unlock a Digital Sixth Sense with Next-Gen Networks

The evolution of next-generation networks is introducing a powerful new capability: the ability for communication systems to function as sophisticated environmental sensors. Wireless networks are now being used as agile alternatives to radar, leveraging technologies like 5G and large-scale antenna arrays. These systems can generate radio beams that not only connect devices but also scan entire environments, creating detailed maps of objects including vehicles, robots, and human presence.

This sensing capability is already demonstrating practical value in healthcare. A collaboration between Nokia Bell Labs, Fraunhofer HHI, and Charité is exploring how beamforming technology can monitor patients’ vital signs without physical contact. This approach could eliminate the need for restrictive cables and monitoring equipment that confine patients to specific locations, potentially enabling comprehensive remote health monitoring from patients’ homes.

The concept of networks as sensors extends beyond wireless applications. For more than fifty years, researchers have recognized that optical fibers can serve dual purposes in both communication and sensing. The foundational patent for fiber optic sensing, which uses light pulses transmitted through fibers to detect changes in temperature, strain, or vibration, originated in 1960.

Modern distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) represents a significant advancement in this field. This technology operates by sending optical pulses through fiber optic cables and measuring how acoustic vibrations alter the light thousands of times per second at every point along the fiber. However, this method, known as Rayleigh Backscatter, has traditionally been limited to distances of about 100 kilometers.

Nokia Bell Labs has developed a breakthrough solution using optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) that extends fiber sensing capabilities across thousands of kilometers in subsea cables by incorporating multiple optical amplifiers. This technological leap is enabling new sensing applications, including efforts to transform subsea telecommunications infrastructure into detection systems for extreme weather events and marine activity. With over 500 active or developing subsea cables spanning more than a million kilometers, increasingly using fiber optics instead of copper, this extensive network could monitor minute light reflections to identify mechanical waves and provide early warnings for tsunamis or earthquakes.

Peter Vetter, president of Bell Labs Core Research at Nokia, highlights the practical implications: “Current tsunami detection typically relies on buoys stationed about 100 kilometers offshore, which often provide warnings too late for effective response. We have these fiber cables positioned deep in the ocean that could deliver much earlier alerts, creating significant interest from government agencies.” The same infrastructure could also monitor for security threats by detecting unusual underwater activities.

The frontier of sensing technology extends even further with early-stage quantum sensing research. Vetter explains that “quantum sensing enables the creation of extremely sensitive detectors capable of measuring magnetic fields with precision far beyond current technology. Future applications could include MRI scanners that offer dramatically improved accuracy and sensitivity.”

We are approaching a critical juncture for sensing technologies as both optical and wireless network sensing prepare for integration into the 6G era. Numerous network providers have identified integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) as a fundamental component of their 6G development strategies, representing what could become another major paradigm shift in telecommunications.

Research initiatives, such as those in Stuttgart, demonstrate how expanding sensing capabilities throughout network infrastructure could enable the creation of dynamic digital replicas of physical environments, effectively allowing systems to “see” around obstacles and through barriers. Potential applications span industrial operations, infrastructure management, and public safety systems.

The significant potential of these technologies has attracted substantial investment. The European Union has allocated €127 million for sixteen 6G research and development projects in 2024, while the US Department of Defense’s FutureG office has publicly discussed experimenting with ISAC as a military tool for applications like drone detection. Both economic powers are positioning themselves to capitalize on the emerging opportunities as sensing technologies evolve toward new capabilities.

Vetter summarizes the current transformation: “We’ve reached a tipping point for sensing technologies. Our extensive interconnectivity combined with the widespread deployment of affordable sensors means we’re increasingly utilizing sensing across all available methods. Networks are already connecting sensors everywhere, but now the networks themselves can function as sensing systems. Combining these approaches enhances our real-time understanding of the physical world in unprecedented ways.”

Access to this level of real-time information creates what amounts to a digital sixth sense with profound transformative potential across multiple sectors.

(Source: Technology Review)