This paper highlights the potential of photonic-assisted analog fronthaul solutions, particularly analog radio-over-fiber (ARoF) and analog radio-over-free-space-optics (ARoFSO), as prospective alternatives for the development of 6G applications. First, we present (New-Radio) NR/5G conformance testing of ARoF and ARoFSO fronthaul links, including the assessment of the error vector magnitude (EVM) and adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACLR) to demonstrate compliance with the minimum transmitter requirements outlined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards. Then, with focus on future 6G Distributed-MIMO (D-MIMO) networks, we conduct experimental validations of coherent joint transmissions (CJT) using ARoF and ARoFSO fronthaul links in a 2-transmitter D-MIMO network, demonstrating MIMO gains of up to 5.35 dB and that these links meet the stringent synchronization demands for CJT. These tests represent the first realizations of CJT utilizing ARoF and ARoFSO links. Finally, for consistency, we validate CJT in a 4-transmitter D-MIMO network with ARoF fronthaul links, with MIMO gains up to 9.4 dB and confirming our previous results. This evidence indicates that these technologies hold significant potential for applications in future 6G systems.

We experimentally validate coherent joint transmission (CJT) in a D-MIMO system with four transmitters using analog fronthaul and RoF links, fulfilling CJT stringent synchronization requirements. MIMO gains close to theoretical values are demonstrated. © Optica Publishing Group 2024

Distributed-MIMO (D-MIMO) is a prospective solution for next-generation mobile networks to increase capacity and coverage. We experimentally validate 1024-QAM coherent joint transmissions in a two transmitter D-MIMO network including radio-over-LWIR FSO fronthaul links facilitating deployment and achieving diversity and power gains close to theoretical values.

The sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks must increase coverage and improve spectral efficiency, especially for cell-edge users. Distributed multiple-input multiple-output (D-MIMO) networks can fulfill these requirements provided that transmission/reception points (TRxPs) of the network can be synchronized with sub-nanosecond precision, however, synchronization with current backhaul and fronthaul digital interfaces is challenging. For 6G new services and scenarios, analog radio-over-fiber (ARoF) is a prospective alternative for future mobile fronthaul where current solutions fall short to fulfill future demands on bandwidth, synchronization, and/or power consumption. This paper presents an experimental validation of coherent joint transmissions (CJTs) in a two TRxPs D-MIMO network where ARoF fronthaul links allow to meet the required level of synchronization. Results show that by means of CJT a combined diversity and power gain of +5 dB is realized in comparison with a single TRxP transmission.

We experimentally test the compliance with 5G/NR 3GPP technical specifications of an analog radio-over-FSO link at 9 μm. The ACLR and EVM transmitter requirements are fulfilled validating the suitability of LWIR FSO for 6G fronthaul. © 2023 The Author(s).

A well-known drawback with LCD-displays in cold is a slow pixel response leading to poor picture quality. Low temperatures can constitute a hazard in viewing important displays in cars. Perceptual experiments with 20 test-persons were conducted to find clear and acceptable ranges on screens simulating distortions in low temperatures. The results showed perception over clear and acceptable image quality was impaired beyond -20°C for the LCD-screen in the experiments. 

Changes in the footballing world’s approach to technology and innovation, along with major advancements in broadcasting contributed to the decision by the International Football Association Board to introduce Video Assistant Referees in 2018. The change meant that under strict protocols referees could use video replays to review decisions in the event of a “clear and obvious error” or a “serious missed incident”. At the time of writing 48-Member Associations have introduced the Video Assistant Referees protocol in at least one of their tournaments and there are many technology providers who work with organisers to implement the Video Assistant Referees systems. To ensure that the use of Video Assistant Referees has a positive effect on the game, Fédération Internationale de Football Association collaborated with the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden to develop objective test methods that could be used to ensure that a system can provide an adequate solution. Each provider must be able to pass requirements that ensure that they can deal with the challenges of processing, coding, decoding, synchronising, and re-formatting of the broadcast feeds. This article will describe the development of the test methods and illustrate some initial results from a test event on Video Assistant Referees system candidates. The methods have shown to be robust and appropriate for their intended purpose and will be developed over the years to ensure the quality of Video Assistant Referees. The developed measurement methods are general and can be applied to other broadcast and video systems as well as to other sports. © 2023, The Author(s).

The International Football Association Board decided to introduce Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in 2018. This led to the need to develop methods for quality control of the VAR-systems. This article focuses on the important aspect to evaluate the video quality. Video Quality assessment has matured in the sense that there are standardized, commercial products and established open-source solutions to measure it with objective methods. Previous research has primarily focused on the end-user quality assessment. How to assess the video in the contribution phase of the chain is less studied. The novelties of this study are two-fold: 1) The user study is specifically targeting video experts i.e., to assess the perceived quality of video professionals working with video production. 2) Six video quality models have been independently benchmarked against the user data and evaluated to show which of the models could provide the best predictions of perceived quality. The independent evaluation is important to get unbiased results as shown by the Video Quality Experts Group. An experiment was performed involving 25 video experts in which they rated the perceived quality. The video formats tested were High-Definition TV both progressive and interlaced as well as a quarters size format that was scaled down half the size in both width and height. The videos were encoded with both H.264 and Motion JPEG for the full size but only H.264 for the quarter size. Bitrates ranged from 80 Mbit/s down to 10 Mbit/s. We could see that for H.264 that the quality was overall very good but dropped somewhat for 10 Mbit/s. For Motion JPEG the quality dropped over the whole range. For the interlaced format the degradation that was based on a simple deinterlacing method did receive overall low ratings. For the quarter size three different scaling algorithms were evaluated. Lanczos performed the best and Bilinear the worst. The performance of six different video quality models were evaluated for 1080p and 1080i. The Video Quality Metric for Variable Frame Delay had the best performance for both formats, followed by Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion method and the Video Quality Metric General model. 

Changes in the footballing world’s approach to technology and innovation contributed to the decision by the International Football Association Board to introduce Video Assistant Referees (VAR). The change meant that under strict protocols referees could use video replays to review decisions in the event of a "clear and obvious error" or a "serious missed incident". This led to the need by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to develop methods for quality control of the VAR-systems, which was done in collaboration with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB. One of the important aspects is the video quality. The novelty of this study is that it has performed a user study specifically targeting video experts i.e., to measure the perceived quality of video professionals working with video production as their main occupation. An experiment was performed involving 25 video experts. In addition, six video quality models have been benchmarked against the user data and evaluated to show which of the models could provide the best predictions of perceived quality for this application. Video Quality Metric for variable frame delay (VQM_VFD) had the best performance for both formats, followed by Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion (VMAF) and VQM General model.

Foreseen requirements and use cases of future beyond fifth-generation (B5G) and sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks have shown that current mobile networks implementations must be reconsidered. Analog radio-over-fiber (ARoF) is a prospective solution for future mobile fronthaul of certain applications where current solutions fall short to fulfill future demands on bandwidth and power consumption. This paper provides a complete New-Radio (NR) conformance testing of ARoF fronthaul links in full accordance with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technical specifications. We experimentally verified that the adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACLR) and the error vector magnitude (EVM) transmitter requirements are fulfilled validating ARoF links as a suitable solution for next-generation mobile fronthaul. Wireless transmissions results are also provided.