More is different: How the Science of Complex Systems can inspire Future Autonomous Networks

Table of Contents

Seminars-2-2024 - This article is part of a series.

Part 1: The Dawn of an Immersive Internet: XR, Generative AI and the Road to 6G

Part 2: AGI Chips - The Next Frontier

Part 3: Generalist vs Specialist Language Models

Part 4: From Intelligent Surfaces to Noise-Driven Communication: Innovative Technologies for 6G and Beyond

Part 5: An Overview of Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization

Part 6: Packet Trimming at the Edge for Low Latency in 6G Environments

Part 7: Scientific Machine Learning and Quantum Utility: A Near Future Perspective

Part 8: Cloud Storage Systems: Latency Characterization and Extensions

Part 9: Let the Plants do the Talking: Climate-Smart Agriculture by the Messages Received from Plants and Soil

Part 10: This Article

Abstract #

It is expected that future mobile networks will be ultra-large-scale, highly dynamic, and complex systems, encompassing a massive number of heterogeneous devices. However, the architecture of the current wireless networks (for example, 5G or IoT) is often fixed, and the optimization tasks are defined to cope with specific and identified challenges and services. Hence, the prevailing manual and predetermined optimization and configuration tasks are no longer appropriate for future networks. Furthermore, we are increasingly dealing with new kinds of networks - like networks of drones, the Internet of Everything, intelligent transportation systems - which bring in several new challenges related to network responsiveness and scalability. We are working on resolving such issues by proposing a framework inspired by theories and tools borrowed from complex systems science, focusing on the impact of network topology on the system’s (i) information representation and transfer, (ii) robustness, and (iii) self-synchronisation capabilities.

Bio of Nicola Marchetti #

Dr. Nicola Marchetti is a Professor at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, where he is the Head of the EE Engineering department. He is an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer, an IEEE Senior Member, and a Fellow of Trinity College. He received the PhD in Wireless Communications from Aalborg University, Denmark in 2007, the MSc in Electronic Engineering from University of Ferrara, Italy in 2003, and the MSc in Mathematics from Aalborg University in 2010. He has authored more than 190 journals and conference papers, 2 books and 9 book chapters, holds 4 patents, and received 4 best paper awards. His research interests span Complex Networks, Mathematics for Communications & Computing, Network Resource Allocation, and Signal Processing for Communications. He serves as Technical Editor for IEEE Network and IEEE Wireless Communications, and has served as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Internet of Things Journal and the EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking. He has an extensive experience giving research lectures across the globe, having delivered to date 4 keynotes, 4 IEEE ComSoc distinguished lectures, 20 invited talks, 8 tutorials at international conferences, and 8 international PhD courses.