IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, VOL. 22, NO.

8, AUGUST 2021 5275

6G-Enabled Network in Box for Internet

of Connected Vehicles
Zhihan Lv , Senior Member, IEEE, Liang Qiao , Graduate Student Member, IEEE,
and Ilsun You , Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract— Objective: To realize the full coverage, full technology should be based on 5G technology and integrate
spectrum, and full application, of 6G networks, the channel satellite mobile communications, artificial intelligence (AI),
measurement, channel characteristics, and channel research of and big data technologies further to form the future mobile
the 6G-oriented full-spectrum full-scene wireless network are
explored. Methods: At present, constructing an information information infrastructure [3]. Compared with 5G technology,
network covering three dimensions of sea, land and air is one 6G technology will enter a higher frequency band, which will
of the research directions of 6G technology development. Mean- greatly improve the number of connections, network speed,
while, the full coverage of three dimensions of communication and network coverage [4]. Also, 6G technology will have
requires multiple channels including multiple frequency bands a larger business scope than 5G technology; its form and
and multiple scenarios, mainly including terahertz, light band,
satellite, unmanned aerial vehicle, ocean, high-speed rail, and intelligence will also be innovatively developed [5]. The tra-
vehicle-to-vehicle. For different channels, different parameters ditional Internet communication is mainly based on consumer
are analyzed and targeted discussed according to channel char- applications. In the meantime, 5G technology emphasizes the
acteristics. Also, there are many other problems of wireless interconnection of all things and the connectivity between
communication channel that need to be solved. Here, only the basic Internet services [6]. The development of 5G technology
above problems are analyzed in detail. Because of the current
development of the Internet of Vehicles, the interconnection of marks the transformation of mobile communication service
connected vehicles is analyzed, and this scenario is also the most objects, while 6G technology should be a step further, which
widely common scenario in daily life. Results: For the above- expands the basic service capabilities and interconnection
mentioned communication channels, the relevant measurement scope of mobile communication systems.
and modeling results of the 6G channel are shown; besides, the The concept of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is derived
characteristics, time, and space correlation functions are obtained
for each channel. Conclusion: The existing research results from the technology of the Internet of Things (IoT), which
of 6G-oriented wireless channel measurement and modeling are occupies a major position in the construction of smart cities.
analyzed; the research methods are summarized; new ideas are As an open and integrated network system, the IoV is formed
proposed to provide researchers with important references. by the interconnection of vehicles, wireless networks, and
Index Terms— 6G communication network, communication other objects [7], [8]. It is the foundation for autonomous
channel, channel characteristics, channel performance. driving of smart cars and intelligent transportation systems in
the future. Its applications are mainly divided into 5 types,
I. I NTRODUCTION including vehicle-to-network, vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-
roadside objects, vehicle-to-road infrastructure, and vehicle-

W ITH the rapid development of Internet technology, 5G

technology has been applied to people’s daily lives.
While 5G technology is gradually maturing, countries around
to-pedestrian. The emergence of 6G technology will provide
huge room for the improvement of vehicle network technology.
The 6G network will be a fully-connected world integrating
the world have begun to study 6G technology. However,
terrestrial wireless and satellite communications. By integrat-
as of now, various countries have not reached a consensus
ing satellite communications into 6G mobile communications,
on the development direction of 6G technology [1], [2].
global seamless coverage is achieved, and network signals
At present, the common understanding of 6G is that 6G
can reach any remote village, allowing patients in deep
Manuscript received July 6, 2020; revised September 1, 2020; accepted mountains to receive telemedicine and children to receive
October 6, 2020. Date of publication November 10, 2020; date of current distance education [9]. In addition, with the joint support
version August 9, 2021. This work was supported in part by the Key Research of the global satellite positioning system, telecommunications
and Development Plan Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Projects
of Shandong Province under Grant 2019JZZY020101 and in part by the satellite system, earth image satellite system, and 6G ground
Soonchunhyang University Research Fund. The Associate Editor for this network, the ground and air full coverage network can also
article was S. Garg. (Corresponding author: Ilsun You.) help people predict the weather and quickly respond to natural
Zhihan Lv is with the School of Data Science and Software Engineering,
Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China, and also with the Artificial disasters. The 6G communication technology is no longer
Intelligence Department, Institute of Computer Science, Warsaw University a simple breakthrough in network capacity and transmission
of Technology, 00-661 Warsaw, Poland (e-mail: [email protected]). rate. It is more to narrow the digital divide and achieve the
Liang Qiao is with the School of Data Science and Software Engineer-
ing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China (e-mail: leonqiaoove@ ultimate goal of the Internet of Everything, which is also the
gmail.com). meaning of 6G. In the direction of vehicle interconnection,
Ilsun You is with the Department of Information Security Engineer- 6G technology will also bring about tremendous changes. The
ing, Soonchunhyang University, Asan 31538, South Korea (e-mail: isyou@
sch.ac.kr). discussion on 6G channel will provide an important theoretical
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TITS.2020.3034817 basis for the research and popularization of 6G.
1558-0016 © 2020 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See https://www.ieee.org/publications/rights/index.html for more information.

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
5276 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, VOL. 22, NO. 8, AUGUST 2021

II. L ITERATURE R EVIEW projects in this field while looking for new directions and
The completion of the 15th edition of the 5G standard in breakthroughs [16]. The above studies show that the research
on 6G technology is still in the primary stage, and the research
early 2018 marks that 2019 is the first year of 5G commer-
on 6G communication channel is even less.
cialization. At this stage, it is too early to speculate what key
technologies will mark 6G because it is not yet known what the Based on the above research, the communication channels
will be explored, including terahertz, light band, satellite,
driving factors for 6G may be. However, the next-generation
systems are usually not created out of thin air. By studying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), ocean, high-speed rail, and
the industrial and technological trends of previous generations, vehicle-to-vehicle, thereby contributing to 6G communication
technology. The explorations of high-speed rail and vehicle-
the direction and trajectory associated with each generation
can be discovered. to-vehicle communication channels are expected to provide an
important theoretical basis for vehicle interconnection.
David and Berndt (2018) discussed the development process
of 1G to 5G in mobile communication systems and introduced III. M ETHODS
the main achievements of each generation in user service,
the technology-related success factors of each generation, and A. 6G Technology and Its Key Development Areas
its relationship with regulation, and the potential defects of From the primitive farming society to the industrial soci-
the first generation; finally, the vision and demand for 6G ety, the contemporary information society, and the future
technology are obtained [10]. Letaief et al. (2019) put forward smart society, the social, political, and economic forms must
a vision for 6G technology, believing that 6G will surpass the inevitably experience the historical laws of disruption, recon-
mobile Internet and will support AI services; also, artificial struction, and development in the development of human
intelligence will play a key role in designing and optimizing society. Many countries also realize that seizing technology
6G architecture, protocols, and operations [11]. Yang et al. and standard research and development is seizing the strategic
(2019) prospected that 6G will meet high-tech standards in heights. The 6G technology will penetrate into society and
new spectrum and energy-saving transmission technologies; people’s lives more deeply than any other technologies, which
they also prospected for potential demand, outlined cur- will change the current market pattern, introduce new players,
rent research on 6G, and proposed 6G technology solutions and form a more complex ecosystem, thereby bringing more
such as physical layer transmission technologies, networks possibilities for people. Especially, under the general trend of
design, safety methods, and test bench development [12]. gradual integration of equipment and senses, the cross reality
Zhang et al. (2019) prospected the future of 6G technology and (XR) technology merged by virtual reality (VR), augmented
identified several promising technologies for the 6G ecosys- reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies is expected
tem, including terahertz (THz) communications, ultra-large to become a new type of long-distance real feeling method in
antenna arrays, orbital angular momentum multiplexing, lasers the future [17, 18].
and visible light communications, spectrum sharing based on However, the development of 6G technology is not smooth,
block chain, quantum communication and computing, mole- and the limitations of 6G are as follows:
cular communication, and the Internet of Nano Things [13]. (1) It needs more “densified” base stations and Wi-Fi
Zong et al. (2019) believed that the key driving force of 6G iterations. The frequency of the 6G signal is already in the
comes not only from the challenges and performance limita- terahertz level. This frequency has entered the spectrum of
tions brought by 5G but also from the paradigm shift driven the molecular rotation energy level, which is easily absorbed
by technology and the continuous development of wireless by water molecules in the air; the higher the frequency is,
networks [14]. the greater the loss is [19, 20]. To ensure the signal and
Intelligent driving and the industry revolution have cre- communication experience, the density of 6G base station
ated the core needs of 6G, which will lead to ubiquitous coverage will be inexhaustible.
mobile ultra-broadband, ultra-high-speed, low-latency com- (2) A full-dimensional composite network must be built.
munications, and ultra-high data density service categories. Since 6G is designed to cover all corners of the world, it is
The emerging services mentioned above require end-to-end not enough to have ground base stations. It also needs the
collaborative design of communication, sensing, and com- cooperation in space with UAVs, helicopters, or satellites in
puting. They have inspired the fusion of photonics and AI, mid-air. Only in this way can 6G fully cover all corners of the
resulting in two technologies that support 6G. Nawaz et al. world [21].
(2019) envisioned the foundation of 6G. 6G will be driven by (3) The utilization of satellites as base stations is a necessary
on-demand self-reconfiguration to ensure exponential growth condition, and satellites currently rely on solar panels to
of network performance and service types. The increasingly provide energy. Obviously, it is impossible to guarantee the
stringent performance requirements of emerging networks energy supply of 6G communication equipment with a large
may eventually trigger some interesting deployment of new number and higher power consumption [22]. The key issue is
technologies, such as large-scale smart surfaces, electromag- a major breakthrough in micro nuclear power.
netic orbital angular momentum, visible light communication, (4) From the technical feasibility point of view, if a
and non-cellular communication [15]. Bi (2019) observed mobile phone wants to maintain 100Mbps high-speed com-
the development trend of the Internet and its potential in munication directly with a satellite from tens of thou-
subsequent versions of 5G and 6G; the purpose was to clarify sands of kilometers away, the transmission power must be
the possible direction of 6G to help researchers quickly start very strong. However, humans cannot stand such a strong
Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
LV et al.: 6G-ENABLED NETWORK IN BOX FOR INTERNET OF CONNECTED VEHICLES 5277

Fig. 3. The third typical way of the satellite-ground fusion.

Fig. 1. The first typical way of the satellite-ground fusion.
current wireless communication field [27], [28]. It is envisaged
that a terabit per second (Tbps) link will be required in
the near future. Unfortunately, traditional wireless commu-
nication systems (below 5 GH) and even the recently stud-
ied millimeter wave communication solutions (30-300 GHz)
cannot achieve such high data rates [29]. This inspired the
exploration of higher frequency bands and corresponding
communication solutions. In this case, the terahertz frequency
band (0.1-10 THz) has been promoted as a key wireless
technology to meet this requirement [30]. The terahertz ultra-
Fig. 2. The second typical way of the satellite-ground fusion. high-speed wireless network is a new type of wireless network.
Unlike traditional wireless networks, it works in the terahertz
electromagnetic harassment. The solution is that in addition to frequency band and can support data transmission rates of
launching tens of thousands of satellites, millions of ground several 10 Gbps, or even 1 Tbps. The terahertz frequency
stations are also planned to assist in geo-favorable regions such band is wider, most of which has not been allocated for use.
as the United States, Alaska, and Hawaii [23]. It can carry Gbps of data and has a wide range of application
(5) In addition, radio communication technology also prospects. Using the terahertz frequency band for commu-
includes application breakthroughs under various concepts, nication can effectively ease the increasingly tight spectrum
such as frequency, channel, bandwidth difference, short wave, resources and current wireless system capacity limitations.
and microwave. Only when all technical breakthroughs are (3) Network AI and security: The combination of AI and
completed can 6G be really realized [24]. a new generation of mobile communication systems is one
For the current plans and assumptions for 6G technology in of the research hot spots in recent years. Researchers in the
the future, the development of 6G technology will involve but communications field generally values more to utilize AI to
is not limited to the following four important areas: improve the operational efficiency of mobile communication
(1) Satellite-ground fusion: The typical ways of satellite- networks, as well as improving the business experience of
ground fusion are shown in Figures 1-3. Currently, construct- users. “Data island” is one of the major bottlenecks restricting
ing an information network covering the three dimensions of the development of mobile communication AI technology.
sea, land, and air is one of the research directions of 6G Currently, a large amount of data is generated on the network
technology development. In addition, the reconciliation of the every day. However, due to rights protection and other reasons,
three must be carried out by satellite [25], [26]. The method these data cannot be disclosed and shared. Therefore, the data
shown in Figure 1 can solve the problem of network supply in that can be used by academia are very limited, resulting in the
remote areas of the land. The method shown in Figure 2 can limited development of mobile communication AI.
solve the problem of network supply in areas without base (4) Non-cellular system: When the number of antennas
stations. The method shown in Figure 3 can be used to on the wireless network side is sufficient, the total capacity
achieve full coverage of the network and directly communicate of the non-cellular system can increase linearly with the
with the earth orbit satellite when there is no ground mobile increase of the total number of users in the coverage area,
communication system. At present, the third satellite-ground which is the ideal mobile communication method to further
fusion method is the one with the greatest possibility of improve the spectrum utilization rate [31]. Through the use
application of 6G technology in the future, which can realize of large-scale collaborative non-cellular system architecture,
communication services in various situations. the total spectrum utilization rate of future 6G systems can be
(2) Terahertz communication: Over the past few decades, increased from 50 to 100 bit/(s·Hz) of existing 5G systems
wireless data transmission rates have doubled every 18 months to about 500 bit/(s·Hz); at least, this is entirely possible
to meet the explosive growth of data traffic. By 2020, the data theoretically [32].
transmission rate of wireless communication systems will
be close to 100 Gbit/s. In the original wireless high-speed B. 6G-Oriented Wireless Channel Measurement
communication technology, how to further increase the wire- As mention before, at present, constructing an information
less network rate is an important research direction in the network covering three dimensions of sea, land and air is

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
5278 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, VOL. 22, NO. 8, AUGUST 2021

one of the research directions of 6G technology develop- The main concern of large-scale fading is path loss.
ment. Meanwhile, the full coverage of three dimensions of Assuming that there is no obstacle between the transmitter and
communication requires multiple channels including multiple the receiver in free space, the electromagnetic wave propagates
frequency bands and multiple scenarios, mainly including in a straight line, the relationship between the received power
terahertz, light band, satellite, UAV, ocean, high-speed rail, and the transmitted power is shown in (1):
and vehicle-to-vehicle. Also, there are many other problems λ 2
PR (d) = PT (d) · G · ( ) (1)
of wireless communication channel that need to be solved. 4πd
Here, only the above problems are analyzed in detail. d is the propagation path length, λ is the electromagnetic
For the terahertz channel, its usage scenarios are mainly wave length, G is the product of the antenna gain of the
indoors and outdoors. The channel has large channel band- transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna. The subscript
width, high directivity, large path loss, and has a blocking R is the received power and the subscript T is the transmitting
effect. There will be attenuation in the atmosphere and diffuse power.
scattering. The frequency band equipment is generally more The relationship between the received power and the
expensive, and the production design is more difficult. Also, transmitted power is shown in (2):
the transmission power of the terahertz frequency band equip- hT h R
ment and the dynamic range of the system will be limited to PR (d) ≈ PT (d) · G · ( 2 )2 (2)
d
some extent; thus, a large amount of detection and research is
required for the terahertz channel. h T h R indicates the antenna height of transmitter and
The application scenarios of the light band channel include receiver, respectively.
indoor, outdoor, underground, and underwater, and the channel If the transmitted and received power is described in loga-
has a large response to materials. Different materials have rithmic form, then:
different scattering characteristics. The transceiver end of PR (d) = PT (lm) − 20 log(d0 /m) − 10n log(d/d0 ) (3)
the channel is nonlinear photoelectric, and the channel has h T h R
some background noise. Compared with the traditional radio d0 = (4)
λ
channel, the light band channel has no multipath fading and
When d0 > d, n = 2; otherwise, n = 4.
Doppler’s effect.
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication channel in new
The satellite communication channel can be applied to
generation mobile communication core technology - multiple
various scenarios except for the orbit. However, in raining and
input and multiple output (MIMO) mode is explored.
snowing weather, signal attenuation will occur; while clouds,
MIMO fading channel can be described as matrix:
fog, and haze will affect the satellite channel, which is largely
affected by the weather. However, the satellite channel has H (t) = [h lk (t)] L×K (5)
high mobility and long communication distance. L and K represent the number of uniform linear antennas
The application range of the UAV communication channel and h lk (t) suggests the complex envelope.
includes urban, rural, suburban, and other open scenes. The S1, S2 and E are three kinds of single reflection, which can
channel has the characteristics of flexible trajectory and high be expressed as follows:
mobility, but it does not have stable characteristics when it
is idle. h lk (t) = h lk
LOS
(t) + h lk
S1
(t) + h lk
S2
(t) + h lk
E
(t) + h lk
DB
(t) (6)
The application range of the marine communication channel
The complex envelope equation of each part is as follows:
includes ships and ships, ships and UAVs, and ships and 
shores. The scatterers of this channel are sparse and will K lk lk − j 2π f C τlk
be affected by ocean waves and ocean currents, which are
LOS
h lk (t) = e × e j 2π f L O S t (7)
K lk + 1
greatly affected by the climate. As a result, a time-varying 
non-stationary state occurs, which will cause a waveguide p S1lk  N1
1
S1
h lk (t) = lim √
effect on the ocean surface, but the communication distance K lk + 1 N1→∞ N1
n1=1
of this channel is long.
×e j (θn1−2π fC τlkn1 ) × e j 2π f S1t (8)
The high-speed rail and car-to-vehicle channels are similar, 
and their application scenarios include open scenes, moun- p S2lk 
N2
1
h lk (t) =
S2
lim √
tains, viaducts, tunnels, and stations. However, the high-speed K lk + 1 N2→∞ N2
n2=1
rail channel application scenarios include the interior of the j (θn2 −2π f C τlkn2 )
vehicle. Meanwhile, the car-to-vehicle channel includes high- ×e ×e j 2π f S2t
(9)

ways, urban streets, campus, and parking lots. Both channels p E lk 
N3
1
have non-stationary characteristics and will be affected by h lk E(t) = lim √
K lk + 1 N3→∞ N3
other trains or vehicles, and the speed and channel trajectory n3=1
j (θn3 −2π f C τlkn3 )
will change. ×e ×e j 2π f E t
(10)

When the radio wave signal is sent from the transmitter to p D B lk 
N1 
N2
1
the receiver through the wireless channel, its signal power will
DB
h lk (t) = lim √
K lk + 1 N1,N2→∞ N1N2
be attenuated. The main reasons include: large-scale fading, n1=1 n2=1
j (θn1n2 −2π f C τlkn1n2 )
small-scale fading, and shadow fading. ×e ×e j 2π f D Bt
(11)

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
LV et al.: 6G-ENABLED NETWORK IN BOX FOR INTERNET OF CONNECTED VEHICLES 5279

τlk is the time length of signal passing through the path,

f L O S is the Doppler frequency shift caused by the movement
of transmitter and receiver on the direct path, fC is the carrier
frequency, LOS is the direct path, K lk and lk represent the
Rice factor and total power of antenna l to k, p S1, p S2, p E ,
and p D B represent the contribution degree of single reflection,
static single reflection, and double reflection to the total power
of scattering, and there is:
p S1 + p S2 + p E + p D B = 1 (12)
The length of each path can be expressed as follows:
Fig. 4. Time autocorrelation function.
3 − 2l
D L O S = (2 f − δT cos γT )
2
3 − 2k
− δ R cos(ϕ L O S − γ R ) (13)
2
3 − 2l
Dl,n1 = r T − δT cos(αTS1 − γT ) (14)
2
Dn1,k = = sqr t(2 f )2 + r T2 − 2 · 2 f · r T cos αTS1
3 − 2k
− δ R cos(α RS1 − γ R ) (15)
 2
Dl,n2 = (2 f )2 + r R2 − 2 · 2 f · r R cos α RS2
3 − 2l
− δT cos(αTS2 − γT ) (16)
2 Fig. 5. Spatial cross-correlation function.
3 − 2k
Dn2,k = rR − δ R cos(α RS2 − γ R ) (17)
2
Dn1,n2 = 2 f − r T cos αTS1 + r R cos α RS1 (18)
a 2 + f 2 + 2a f cos α RE
Dl,n3 =
a + f cos α RE
3 − 2l
− δT cos(αTE − γT ) (19)
2
b2 3 − 2l
Dn3,k = − δ R cos(α RE − γ R ) (20)
a + f cos α R E 2
αTS1 and α RS1 represent AOD (angle-of-departure) and AOA
(angle-of-arrival) of single reflection of moving scatterer. The Fig. 6. Street corner channel model of internet of vehicle.
antenna unit spacing is δ R and δT , the inclination angle of
As shown in Figures 4 and 5, due to the long-term move-
antenna array is γ R and γT , a represents the long axis radius
ment of the devices at both ends, the autocorrelation functions
of ellipse, and b represents the short axis radius of ellipse.
at different times are very different, and the autocorrelation
IV. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSIONS function of the channel at the same time when the frequency
A. Terahertz Channel Model is increased, while the cross-correlation function is decreasing.
The frequency of the terahertz channel is higher, and the B. Light Band Channel Model
transmission bandwidth is larger. This leads to more fre- The street corner channel model for visible light is shown
quency domain instability of the terahertz channel. The path in Figure 6:
loss of the terahertz channel is larger; thus, it is necessary The channel impulse response of visible light is shown
to send and receive signals at both ends of the terahertz in Figure 7:
channel. Large-scale or ultra-large-scale antenna arrays are In the figure, the reflection path 1 is the green line, and
used, and this will cause the non-stationarity of the chan- the reflection path 3 is the black line in Figure 6. As shown
nel spatial domain. The movement of the transmitting and in Figure 7, the reflection path 3 component has a larger delay,
receiving equipment at both ends of the channel will cause and the visible light propagation distance of the path is farther.
the non-stationarity of the channel time domain. According However, the power of the received light is much smaller than
to the non-stationarity of the channel in the time domain, that of reflection path 1 and reflection path 2.
space domain, and frequency domain, the time auto-correlation
function and the spatial cross-correlation function of different C. Satellite Communication Channel Model
time and different frequency channels are obtained, as shown Most of the paths in the satellite communication channel are
in Figures 4 and 5. straight lines. Therefore, the reception strength of the signal

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
5280 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, VOL. 22, NO. 8, AUGUST 2021

Fig. 7. Visible light channel impulse response.

Fig. 9. Cumulative distribution function of UAV channel root mean square
delay expansion.

Fig. 8. Satellite communication channel time autocorrelation function.

is stable, but it will also be affected by greater weather. The

simulation results of the time autocorrelation function of the
Fig. 10. Probability distribution of stationary time interval of UAV commu-
satellite communication channel are shown in Figure 8: nication channel at different speeds.
As shown in Figure 8, whether it is at 0s, 5s or 10s, the
degree of agreement between the simulation model and the
ideal situation is high. However, the autocorrelation function
is different at different times, which shows that the satellite
communication channel has non-stationary characteristics in
time domain. Figure 8 shows the time autocorrelation function
of satellite communication channel obtained by simulation.
The simulation frequency is f = 39.402 GHz, the mobile
speed of receiver is v = 3m / s, and the moving velocity
of transmitter is v = 0.5m/s. The results of theoretical model
are consistent with those of simulation model, which verifies
the correctness of the model. The autocorrelation function
at different time points is different, which indicates that
Fig. 11. Ocean channel ship-to-shore space cross-correlation function.
the satellite communication channel has time-domain non-
stationarity. areas, which is consistent with the actual situation. In Figure
10, V1 represents the speed of the transmitting end of the
D. UAV Communication Channel Model
channel, and V2 represents the speed of the receiving end of
Because the mobility of the UAV communication channel the channel. As shown in Figure 10, when the speed of the
is very high, and the direction and angle of the channel will transmitting end increases and the speed of the receiving end
change. The model of the UAV communication channel is non- does not change, the smooth interval gradually decreases. The
stationary. The parameters of the UAV communication channel actual situation is consistent.
are updated in real-time according to the geometric relation-
ship, thereby better reflecting the non-stationary nature of the E. Ocean Channel Model
UAV communication channel. The probability distribution of The normalized spatial cross-correlation function analysis
the stationary time interval of the UAV communication channel for the ship and the shore is shown in Figure 11:
at different speeds is shown in Figure 10. The Rice factor K = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is set to obtain the
As shown in Figure 9, the model is better for the root mean corresponding ship-to-shore space cross-correlation function.
square delay simulation of open scenes, streets, and residential As shown in Figure 11, when the K value increases, the space

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
LV et al.: 6G-ENABLED NETWORK IN BOX FOR INTERNET OF CONNECTED VEHICLES 5281

Fig. 12. High-speed rail communication channel time autocorrelation Fig. 14. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication channel time autocorrelation
function. function.

Fig. 15. Spatial cross-correlation function of vehicle-to-vehicle communica-

tion channel.
Fig. 13. High-speed rail communication channel spatial cross-correlation
function. As shown in Figures 14 and 15, due to the motions of the
transmitter/receiver and the scatterer, the value of the time
between channel correlation will also increase. At the same autocorrelation function of the vehicle-to-vehicle communi-
moment, the simulation model can well match with the theo- cation channel decreases with time. Different from the time
retical model, but at different times, the time autocorrelation auto-correlation function, the spatial cross-correlation function
function of the simulation model and the theoretical model is of the communication channel gradually increases with time,
very different, which proves that the proposed model can well and the change of its value with time is determined by the
describe the non-stationary characteristics of the high-speed time-varying angle of arrival and the antenna array orientation.
rail communication channel.
V. C ONCLUSION
F. High-Speed Rail and Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication After the research, the main communication channels of 6G
Channel Model are displayed, which will provide an important reference
The high-speed rail and the vehicle-to-vehicle communi- for 6G technology. By exploring the high-speed rail and
cation channel have some similarities. Both of them need vehicle-to-vehicle communication channels, it is proved that
to consider the non-stationary characteristics of the mobile 6G technology can well meet the time and space requirements
process. The high-speed rail communication channel is studied of vehicle interconnection in the direction of vehicle intercon-
for its time autocorrelation characteristics and spatial cross- nection. The research of 6G channel will provide an important
correlation characteristics. The results are shown in Fig- theoretical basis for the research and popularization of 6G.
ures 12 and 13: Although the research has achieved some results, due to the
As shown in Figures 12 and 13, at the same time, the sim- lack of 6G-related research, the research content is not deep
ulation model and the theoretical model have a higher degree enough. Also, the channel model research is not deep enough.
of agreement. Also, at different times, the time autocorrelation In the future, more in-depth and profound research will be
function and the spatial cross correlation function have dif- needed to support 6G technology. This research is possible
ferent degrees of difference. It shows that the non-stationary to improve other researches in 6G, AI, IoT, Neuromorphic
characteristics of high-speed rail communication channels are computing [33]–[45].
well described. R EFERENCES
For the vehicle-to-vehicle communication channel, the time
[1] K. David, J. Elmirghani, H. Haas, and X. H. You, “Defining 6G:
auto-correlation characteristics and spatial cross-correlation Challenges and opportunities [from the guest editors],” IEEE Veh.
characteristics results are shown in Figures 14 and 15. Technol. Mag., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 14–16, Jun. 2019.

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
5282 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, VOL. 22, NO. 8, AUGUST 2021

[2] Y. Al-Eryani and E. Hossain, “The D-OMA method for massive multiple [25] B. Hou, Z. He, H. Zhou, and J. Wang, “Integrated design and accuracy
access in 6G: Performance, security, and challenges,” IEEE Veh. Technol. analysis of star sensor and gyro on the same benchmark for satellite
Mag., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 92–99, 2019. attitude determination system,” IEEE/CAA J. Automatica Sinica, vol. 6,
[3] E. Calvanese Strinati et al., “6G: The next frontier: From holographic no. 4, pp. 1074–1080, Jul. 2019.
messaging to artificial intelligence using subterahertz and visible light [26] J. Lu, M. Hu, Y. Yang, and M. Dai, “On-orbit calibration method for
communication,” IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 42–50, redundant IMU based on satellite navigation & star sensor information
Sep. 2019. fusion,” IEEE Sensors J., vol. 20, no. 9, pp. 4530–4543, May 2020.
[4] X. Huang, J. A. Zhang, R. P. Liu, Y. J. Guo, and L. Hanzo, “Airplane- [27] L. You, X. Gao, G. Ye Li, X.-G. Xia, and N. Ma, “BDMA for millimeter-
aided integrated networking for 6G wireless: Will it work?” IEEE Veh. Wave/Terahertz massive MIMO transmission with per-beam synchro-
Technol. Mag., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 84–91, Sep. 2019. nization,” IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun., vol. 35, no. 7, pp. 1550–1563,
[5] T. Huang, W. Yang, J. Wu, J. Ma, X. Zhang, and D. Zhang, “A survey on Jul. 2017.
green 6G network: Architecture and technologies,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, [28] I. F. Akyildiz, C. Han, and S. Nie, “Combating the distance problem
pp. 175758–175768, 2019. in the millimeter wave and terahertz frequency bands,” IEEE Commun.
[6] E. Yaacoub and M.-S. Alouini, “A key 6G challenge and Opportunity— Mag., vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 102–108, Jun. 2018.
Connecting the base of the pyramid: A survey on rural connectivity,” [29] V. Petrov, M. Komarov, D. Moltchanov, J. M. Jornet, and Y. Kouch-
Proc. IEEE, vol. 108, no. 4, pp. 533–582, Apr. 2020. eryavy, “Interference and SINR in millimeter wave and terahertz com-
[7] L. Zhu, Z. Xiao, X.-G. Xia, and D. Oliver Wu, “Millimeter-wave munication systems with blocking and directional antennas,” IEEE
communications with non-orthogonal multiple access for B5G/6G,” Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 1791–1808, Mar. 2017.
IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 116123–116132, 2019. [30] M. S. Islam et al., “A novel approach for spectroscopic chemical
[8] I. Tomkos, D. Klonidis, E. Pikasis, and S. Theodoridis, “Toward the identification using photonic crystal fiber in the terahertz regime,” IEEE
6G network era: Opportunities and challenges,” IT Prof., vol. 22, no. 1, Sensors J., vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 575–582, Jan. 2018.
pp. 34–38, Jan. 2020. [31] J. Dai, J. Liu, Y. Shi, S. Zhang, and J. Ma, “Analytical model-
[9] J. Gozalvez, “Welcome to the december 2019 issue [from the editor],” ing of resource allocation in D2D overlaying multihop multichannel
IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 14, no. 4, p. 3, Dec. 2019. uplink cellular networks,” IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 66, no. 8,
[10] K. David and H. Berndt, “6G vision and requirements: Is there any need pp. 6633–6644, Aug. 2017.
for beyond 5G?” IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 72–80, [32] R. Li et al., “Intelligent 5G: When cellular networks meet artificial
Sep. 2018. intelligence,” IEEE Wireless Commun., vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 175–183,
[11] K. B. Letaief, W. Chen, Y. Shi, J. Zhang, and Y.-J.-A. Zhang, “The Oct. 2017.
roadmap to 6G: AI empowered wireless networks,” IEEE Commun. [33] S. Yang et al., “Scalable digital neuromorphic architecture for large-
Mag., vol. 57, no. 8, pp. 84–90, Aug. 2019. scale biophysically meaningful neural network with multi-compartment
[12] P. Yang, Y. Xiao, M. Xiao, and S. Li, “6G wireless communications: neurons,” IEEE Trans. Neural Netw. Learn. Syst., vol. 31, no. 1,
Vision and potential techniques,” IEEE Netw., vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 70–75, pp. 148–162, Jan. 2020.
Jul. 2019. [34] Z. Lv and H. Song, “Mobile Internet of things under data physical fusion
[13] Z. Zhang et al., “6G wireless networks: Vision, requirements, architec- technology,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 4616–4624,
ture, and key technologies,” IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 14, no. 3, May 2020.
pp. 28–41, Sep. 2019. [35] G. Chen et al., “Neuromorphic vision based multivehicle detection and
[14] B. Zong, C. Fan, X. Wang, X. Duan, B. Wang, and J. Wang, “6G tracking for intelligent transportation system,” J. Adv. Transp., vol. 2018,
technologies: Key drivers, core requirements, system architectures, and pp. 1–13, Dec. 2018.
enabling technologies,” IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 14, no. 3, [36] X. Liu, G. Chen, X. Sun, and A. Knoll, “Ground moving vehi-
pp. 18–27, Sep. 2019. cle detection and movement tracking based on the neuromorphic
[15] S. J. Nawaz, S. K. Sharma, S. Wyne, M. N. Patwary, and vision sensor,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 7, no. 9, pp. 9026–9039,
M. Asaduzzaman, “Quantum machine learning for 6G communication Sep. 2020.
networks: State-of-the-Art and vision for the future,” IEEE Access, [37] Z. Lv and W. Xiu, “Interaction of edge-cloud computing based on SDN
vol. 7, pp. 46317–46350, 2019. and NFV for next generation IoT,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 7, no. 7,
[16] Q. Bi, “Ten trends in the cellular industry and an outlook on 6G,” IEEE pp. 5706–5712, Jul. 2020.
Commun. Mag., vol. 57, no. 12, pp. 31–36, Dec. 2019. [38] G. Casolla, S. Cuomo, V. S. D. Cola, and F. Piccialli, “Exploring
[17] L. Li, H. Hou, and W. Meng, “Convolutional-Neural-Network-Based unsupervised learning techniques for the Internet of things,” IEEE Trans.
detection algorithm for uplink multiuser massive MIMO systems,” IEEE Ind. Informat., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 2621–2628, Apr. 2020.
Access, vol. 8, pp. 64250–64265, 2020. [39] S. Dang, O. Amin, B. Shihada, and M. S. Alouini, “What should 6G
[18] K. David, “Beyond fifth generation: Let’s start talking sixth generation be?” Nature Electron., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 20–29, 2020.
[From the Editor],” IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 3–4, [40] Z. Lv, X. Li, H. Lv, and W. Xiu “BIM big data storage in Web-
Dec. 2016. VRGIS,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Informat., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 2566–2573,
[19] Z. E. Ankarali, B. Pekoz, and H. Arslan, “Flexible radio access beyond Apr. 2020.
5G: A future projection on waveform, numerology, and frame design [41] F. Piccialli, S. Cuomo, V. S. D. Cola, and G. Casolla, “A machine
principles,” IEEE Access, vol. 5, pp. 18295–18309, 2017. learning approach for IoT cultural data,” J. Ambient Intell. Humanized
[20] T. S. Rappaport et al., “Wireless communications and applications above Comput., pp. 1–12, Sep. 2019.
100 GHz: Opportunities and challenges for 6G and beyond,” IEEE [42] F. Piccialli, G. Casolla, S. Cuomo, F. Giampaolo, and V. S. di Cola,
Access, vol. 7, pp. 78729–78757, 2019. “Decision making in IoT environment through unsupervised learning,”
[21] L. Xiao, D. Jiang, D. Xu, H. Zhu, Y. Zhang, and H. V. Poor, IEEE Intell. Syst., vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 27–35, Jan. 2020.
“Two-dimensional antijamming mobile communication based on rein- [43] A. Zhou, S. Wang, S. Wan, and L. Qi, “LMM: Latency-aware micro-
forcement learning,” IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 67, no. 10, service mashup in mobile edge computing environment,” Neural Com-
pp. 9499–9512, Oct. 2018. put. Appl., vol. 32, pp. 15411–15425, Jan. 2020.
[22] Y. Zhou, L. Tian, L. Liu, and Y. Qi, “Fog computing enabled future [44] S. Wan, Z. Gu, and Q. Ni, “Cognitive computing and wireless commu-
mobile communication networks: A convergence of communication and nications on the edge for healthcare service robots,” Comput. Commun.,
computing,” IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 20–27, May 2019. vol. 149, pp. 99–106, Jan. 2020.
[23] B. Thors, D. Colombi, Z. Ying, T. Bolin, and C. Törnevik, “Exposure to [45] Z. Lv, W. Kong, X. Zhang, D. Jiang, H. Lv, and X. Lu, “Intelligent
RF EMF from array antennas in 5G mobile communication equipment,” security planning for regional distributed energy Internet,” IEEE Trans.
IEEE Access, vol. 4, pp. 7469–7478, 2016. Ind. Informat., vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 3540–3547, May 2020.
[24] X. Wang, Y. Han, C. Wang, Q. Zhao, X. Chen, and M. Chen, “In-edge [46] S. Wan, Y. Xia, L. Qi, Y.-H. Yang, and M. Atiquzzaman, “Auto-
AI: Intelligentizing mobile edge computing, caching and communica- mated colorization of a grayscale image with seed points propa-
tion by federated learning,” IEEE Netw., vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 156–165, gation,” IEEE Trans. Multimedia, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 1756–1768,
Sep. 2019. Jul. 2020.

Authorized licensed use limited to: HKBK College of Engineering. Downloaded on October 31,2023 at 10:54:40 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.