Lab full name

Experimental Lab of Integrated Terrestrial and Non Terrestrial Networks & Services

ERC 2nd Level Code

PE7 Systems and Communication Engineering

PE6 Computer Science and Informatics

ERC 3rd level Code

PE7_8 Networks (communication networks, sensor networks, networks of robots, etc.)

PE6_2 Computer systems, parallel/distributed systems, sensor networks, embedded systems, cyber-physical systems

PE6_5 Cryptology, security, privacy, quantum cryptography

PE6_11 Machine learning statistical data processing and applications using signal processing

PE6_12 Scientific computing, simulation and modelling tools

Research Activities

Developed in the context of RESTART program (namely “RESearch and innovation on future Telecommunications systems and networks, to make Italy more smart”, which is the most important public R&D program ever implemented in the Telecommunications sector in Italy funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU), the research team belonging to the iTNT-NS laboratory designs and investigates – also through heterogeneous Proof-of-Concepts - the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks and services through a 3-dimensional communication infrastructure. At the time of this writing, the mission of iTNT-NS is the:

Study (through field measurements) of the coexistence between Terrestrial/Non-Terrestrial (T/NT) communications in FR1 frequency bands,
Performance analysis of a 3D multi-layer communication architecture for integrated T/NT networks to support new 6G-oriented use cases (including IoD), with specific Quality of Service and energy requirements,
Analysis (through field measurements) of the performance of new transmission techniques and advanced orchestration schemes for resources and services in integrated T/NT networks,
Definition of the architectural principles, components, APIs, and tools required to build and validate advanced test platforms for 5G and 6G, and
Implementation of pilot installations and experimental demos to study the technologies of interest for the projects under Spoke 2, testing the impact of future telecommunications networks and services on principles such as inclusiveness, sustainability, security, etc.

To this end, iNTN-NS explores the following enabling technologies:

Internet of Drones (IoD). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are an important enabler for 5G and 6G communications and can be employed for a wide range of applications. Drones can fly in swarms, continuously optimizing their trajectory, and coordinate among themselves, thus delivering value-added services in many applications, including goods delivery, environmental surveying, first-aid units in disruptive events, and Flying Base Stations in 5G and Beyond scenarios with multiple users requesting connectivity at the same time in the same area. Research activities on the Internet of Drones context include the design and assessment of different channel models and the optimization of the entire mission plan, spanning from the trajectory to the communication outage probability.

Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and Integrated Terrestrial/Non-Terrestrial Networks (T/NTN). Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and their integration with Terrestrial Networks (T/NTN) represent a fundamental evolution in 5G/B5G/6G systems, enabling seamless global coverage and supporting mission-critical services with stringent requirements. These networks must harmonize heterogeneous components across space, air, and ground segments within virtualized infrastructures.

5G and Beyond. The 5th Generation of mobile networks and beyond communication systems, namely 5G/B5G/6G, target the ambitious goal to support a very heterogeneous mixture of services having specific and challenging requirements. To this end, they should integrate and properly harmonize heterogeneous technical components, services, and network functions, deployed at different level of the overall (virtualized) infrastructure.

Department

DEI

Contact Person

Luigi Alfredo Grieco

alfredo.grieco@poliba.it

Companies and Institutions

Università Degli Studi Di Roma “Tor Vergata”

Politecnico di Milano

Politecnico di Torino

Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna

Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna

Università Degli Studi di Catania

Università Degli Studi di Firenze

Università Degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”

Università Degli Studi di Padova

Università Degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria

Università Degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”

Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario Per Le Telecomunicazioni

Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche

Fondazione Ugo Bordoni

Open Fiber S.p.A.

Prysmian S.p.A.

Athonet S.R.L.

Tiesse S.p.A.

Wind Tre S.p.A.

Vodafone Italia S.p.A.

Tim Italia S.p.A.

Italtel S.p.A.

Ericsson Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.

Leonardo S.p.A.

Telespazio S.p.A.

Poliba RESTART Cascade Calls Partners:

Università Degli Studi di Trento

Università degli Studi di Trieste

Università degli Studi di Parma

Università degli Studi di Genova

Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale

Picosats S.r.l.

Università degli Studi di Torino

Università degli Studi di Milano

Università̀ degli Studi di Palermo

Università̀ degli Studi di Suor Orsola Benincasa

MUV S.r.l.

Revelis S.r.l.

Skopìa S.r.l.

Università degli Studi dell’Aquila

Università degli Studi di Salerno

MAV Reality S.r.l.

SPARK S.r.l.

TERA S.r.l.

SEEDS S.r.l.

MAESTRY S.r.l.

Giffoni Innovation Hub

Fabbrica Italiana dell’Innovazione

Spici S.r.l.

Projects

European projects: HORIZON 6G-GOALS, (2024-26), HORIZON BRIDGITISE (2024-27).

ernational projects: NGSO SIMULATOR FOR 5G VEHICLE-TO-EVERYTHING (V2X) (V2LeoSim, 2025-2026, funded by ESA).

PNRR projects funded by NextGenerationEU: RESTART, Telecommunications of the Future (2023-25), MOST (2022-25), ISP5G+ (2024-25), BRIEF (2023-26).

PRIN projects funded by the Italian MiUR: INSPIRE (2023-26), HORUS (2023-26).

Facilities

High-performance network devices supporting traffic with high bandwidth requirements: routers, switches, access points, firewalls, workstations.

Advanced terrestrial and non-terrestrial network equipment.

KeySight Propsim Terrestrial/Non-terrestrial channel emulator.

Advanced SDR platforms: NI Ettus X310/X410, HackRF One, AirSpy-R2, Nooelec NESDR SMArt XTR HF, LimeSDR Mini 2.0.

ADALM-PHASER kit, KrakenSDR turnkey system, V-MD3 RFBeam Radar transceiver, and OctoClock-G CDA-2990.

Equipment for tests at mmWave frequencies: TMYTEK-NI BBox One-28 GHz 5G, TMYTEK-NI BBoxLite-28 GHz 5G, MYTEK-NI UD Box 5G-Dual Channel.

Kit of 8 passive reflectors, XRifle Dynamic RIS.

Use-case oriented devices: programmable and multi-interface 5G COTS terminals, IoT devices, AR/VR visors, advanced sensors, tablets, smartphones.

Robots: drones (DJI Mavic 3M, Holybro X500, Parrot Anafi), terrestrial robots (Unitree Go2 Edu Plus Hesai XT 16, Husarion ROSbot XL).

High performance computing equipment for design and testing activities (workstation and server clusters, desktops, laptops, monitors, peripherals).

Implementation of mobile radio base stations (full stack emulation) and 5G core networks.

Indoor Controlled Fly Area: safe and controlled environment for testing scenarios and demos that include the use of drones and autonomous robots.

Protection systems (including the drone aviary) in internal and external environments providing real-time position and speed of objects inside it.

Anechoic Chamber: availability of anechoic chamber AC1224, a quality, highly cost-effective walk-in test chamber for mmWave and radar antenna tests.

Softwares

5G-air-simulator: https://telematics.poliba.it/5G-air-simulator

IoD-sim: https://telematics.poliba.it/iod-sim

LTE-Sim: https://telematics.poliba.it/lte-sim

Nano-sim: https://telematics.poliba.it/nano-sim

Services

Reconfigurable emulation and simulation frameworks for the test of advanced network infrastructures and services.

New modules for open-source projects.

Networks Training and Knowledge Transfer.

Unique opportunities in the field of communication and teaching, promoting discussion initiatives between companies and students for the development of new ideas.

Resources to tackle national and international projects, in line with the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 2021 – 2027, even after RESTART.

Address / How to reach us

The laboratory is located inside the university campus in Bari, Department of Electronic and Information engineering (DEI). Plesso Celso Ulpiani - Room 0003.

Hours

Mon - Fri 9:00 - 19:00

Link to external content

https://www.fondazione-restart.it/missions/mission-2-laboratories-proofs-of-con…

Luigi Alfredo Grieco

iTNT-NS Laboratory