New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS): Nokia on Thursday announced that it has established a 6G lab at its Global R&D centre in Bengaluru.

The first-of-its-kind project aims to accelerate the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology that will address the future needs of both industry and society.

The lab was inaugurated virtually by the Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“Interesting use cases coming out of this lab will be related to transportation safety, health care and education, which will be another big contribution in the entire Digital India suite,” Vaishnaw said in a statement.

According to the company, the lab will function as a platform for collaboration for industry stakeholders and facilitate the testing of innovative solutions while establishing their potential for commercialisation.

The lab includes a setup to research ‘Network as a Sensor’ technology that enables the network to sense objects, people and movement without the need for onboard sensors. It will also provide an experimental platform for researching algorithms, privacy, and sustainable system design.

Research areas will also include foundational 6G technologies like Network Exposure and Automation.

"We look forward to collaborating with key stakeholders to help India become a major player in 6G technology development and adoption; and take its place in the global arena as a leading developer and supplier of advanced telecom technologies and solutions,” said Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, Nokia.

The 6G lab is a milestone for Nokia in contributing to the ‘Bharat 6G Vision,’ which aims to position India as a key global contributor to the design, development, and implementation of 6G technology, the company said.

In addition, the company is in the process of building research collaborations with premier research institutes like IISc/IITs to further scale up the 6G research initiative in the country.