2nd Edition of ATHENA WORKSHOP

Empowering 6G Networks: 2nd Workshop on Advancements in Research Infrastructures, Adaptive Frameworks, and Global Architectural Evolution (ATHENA 2025)

The ATHENA 2025 workshop focuses on the pivotal advancements required for 6G networks to become a reality. The core themes revolve around research infrastructures, adaptive frameworks, and the architectural evolution of future communication systems.

The motivation behind ATHENA 2025 is to provide a dedicated venue where experts can discuss next-generation testbeds, AI-driven network adaptability, and global connectivity solutions that transcend traditional network paradigms. With 6G expected to introduce ultra-low latency, AI-native architectures, and seamless integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, this workshop will serve as a vital forum to address technical challenges and propose groundbreaking solutions.

ATHENA 2025 complements the IEEE SDN/NFV 2025 conference by exploring how the softwarization of networks, virtualization techniques, and AI-driven optimizations will shape the transition to 6G. By bringing together academia, industry, and policymakers, this workshop fosters collaboration on key innovations driving the evolution from 5G to 6G.

The IEEE International Conference on SDN/NFV 2025 invites researchers, practitioners, and industry experts to submit their original contributions to the workshop titled “Empowering 6G Networks: Workshop on Advancements in Research Infrastructures, Adaptive Frameworks, and Global Architectural Evolution.”

Important Dates: (tentative)
– Paper Submission Deadline: 14/7/2025
– Acceptance Notification: 1/8/2024
– Camera-Ready Submission: 8/8/2024

The workshop authors/presenters shall perform a full conference registration, while the participants shall perform 1-day registration if they are planning to attend workshops organised in the same day or a full conference registration for attending workshops organised in different days.

The workshop is co-organised by aerOS project

A Novel Multiple Access Scheme for Heterogeneous Wireless Communications Using Symmetry-Aware Continual Deep Reinforcement Learning Journal Paper

The Metaverse holds the potential to revolutionize digital interactions through the establishment of a highly dynamic and immersive virtual realm over wireless communications systems, offering services such as massive twinning and telepresence. This landscape presents novel challenges, particularly efficient management of multiple access to the frequency spectrum, for which numerous adaptive Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approaches have been explored. However, challenges persist in adapting agents to heterogeneous and non-stationary wireless environments. In this paper, we present a novel approach that leverages Continual Learning (CL) to enhance intelligent Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols, featuring an intelligent agent coexisting with legacy User Equipments (UEs) with varying numbers, protocols, and transmission profiles unknown to the agent for the sake of backward compatibility and privacy. We introduce an adaptive Double and Dueling Deep Q-Learning (D3QL)-based MAC protocol, enriched by a symmetry-aware CL mechanism, which maximizes intelligent agent throughput while ensuring fairness. Mathematical analysis validates the efficiency of our proposed scheme, showcasing superiority over conventional DRL-based techniques in terms of throughput, collision rate, and fairness, coupled with real-time responsiveness in highly dynamic scenarios.

Find the paper online here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10908203

aerOS 7th Plenary Meeting

aerOS 7th plenary meeting took place in MADE premises in Milan. Partners focused on presentations and discussions on technical aspects of the projects and pilot status. Also, pilot presentations and discussions on communication, dissemination and exploitation took place in the second day. The meeting: meeting ended with partners discussing impact, exploitation and OSS. Last but not least a presentation of MADE was made to all partners with a guided tour in MADE facilities.

Toward Building a Digital Twin for Network Operations and Management Journal Paper

With the growth of telecommunication networks driven by resource-intensive applications, the expansion of IoT, the rise of data centers, and the advancements of 5G and future 6G networks, monitoring and maintenance are becoming increasingly important for network operators. In this sense, the Network Digital Twin (NDT) is emerging as a promising technology to mirror a network’s whole operational and management lifecycle to optimize its performance without compromising the real network. In this work, we propose an NDT solution supported by a new data integration methodology and a prototypical architecture for translating information from the network management domain into a knowledge-based interoperable model. Our case study shows how this NDT can be used to reveal the capabilities of real networks in terms of configuration and operational status, providing benefits for network control and management to facilitate the application of closed-loop network automation systems.

Find the paper online here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10919072

aerOS newsletter #10

The latest issue of aerOS newsletter is now available! You may find all about project related activities for the previous period.

Find it online here.

MECC 2025

aerOS project participated at 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 m𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗢𝗦 𝗘𝗨-𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 that took place last week in the context of MECC 2025! The workshop introduced researchers, developers, and practitioners to exchange ideas, present innovations, and explore how 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗢𝗦 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱-𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲-𝗜𝗼𝗧 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘂𝗺.

The 2nd International Workshop on metaOS for the Cloud-Edge-IoT Continuum (MECC 2025) was co-hosted at the ACM EuroSys 2025 that  held from March 30 to April 3, 2025, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The workshop aimed at providing an overview of the opportunities and critical issues brought by a MetaOS orchestrating the Cloud-Edge-IoT ecosystem, particularly focusing on its deployment to optimize AI processes computational needs. Through a series of technical presentations, interactive sessions, and panel discussions, this workshop addressed critical issues such as interoperability, standardization, and contribution to relevant open-source projects. Participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas, share research findings, and collaborate on innovative solutions to advance the field of metaOS.

aerOS Pilot 5 – Forecasting Component

This video demonstrates the ability of the aerOS project’s Pilot 5 Forecasting Component to predict and analyse key environmental metrics, such as temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels, for optimizing room health and energy efficiency in smart buildings. Leveraging machine learning models, the component uses IoT sensor data to calculate a room’s health score, which guides HVAC management and employee seating recommendations.

Find the video here.

Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement entitled: Semantic-Enhanced Digital Twin System for Robot–Environment Interaction Monitoring” paper

The publication in IEEE “Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement entitled: Semantic-Enhanced Digital Twin System for Robot–Environment Interaction Monitoring” is now available!

You may find more information here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9380190

aerOS Pilot 1 Scenario 4 – AGV Zero-Breakdown Logistics

This video showcases the latest advancements in Scenario 4 of aerOS Pilot 1: AGV Zero-Breakdown Logistics.

This pilot, led by MADE and POLIMI Industry4.0Lab in their state-of-the-art Milan facilities, transforms logistics and production workflows using cutting-edge technologies. It aims to prove a reliable IoT-Edge-Cloud Meta-OS for seamless data transfer and smart processing allocation, featuring real-time edge computing, decentralized AI, standardized data protocols, and advanced AGV optimization.

These innovations enhance Flexibility and Efficiency (Offering a modular, adaptable solution that meets the demands of modern manufacturing environment while ensuring resource efficiency), AI-Driven Orchestration (Leveraging advanced AI algorithms to optimize task distribution) and Standardized Integration (Creating a unified platform that ensures seamless communication between various industrial protocols and systems, reducing complexity and fostering scalability).

Find the video online here.

aerOS Pilot 1 Scenario 2 – Remote Operations and Setup & Configuration

This video showcases the advances of Pilot 1 Scenario 2 within the aerOS Meta OS project. Starts by introducing the responsible and the place where it takes place, the AIC lab (Automotive Intelligent Center). It continuous mentioning the technologies upon aerOS set its foundation. And ends up explaining the traditional metrology workflow and how aerOS improves it from two main perspectives, Remote operations and Setup and Configuration of HW and SF.

Find more information here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mCbQIwcTpo&t=2s