News & Events

On 19 May 2026, the 6G-MUSICAL, 6G-SENSES, and 6G-PATH projects successfully co-organised the joint webinar “The 6G Trial Landscape: From Foundational Research to Sensing-Enabled Real-World Validation”, bringing together researchers, industry representatives and members of the SNS community to explore how Europe is advancing the journey from pioneering 6G research to sensing-enabled real-world experimentation and validation.

The webinar attracted 62 registered participants, with 51 attendees joining the live session, reflecting the strong interest in collaborative approaches to 6G experimentation and validation across the European SNS ecosystem. Throughout the session, experts from the three projects showcased complementary perspectives spanning foundational research, intelligent sensing technologies, proof-of-concept development and large-scale trial validation, highlighting how collaborative innovation is accelerating Europe’s path towards future 6G networks.

Opening the event, Gianna Avgousti (eBOS, 6G-MUSICAL) welcomed participants and highlighted the importance of collaboration among SNS projects to accelerate 6G innovation. She emphasised that while technological innovation remains fundamental, future 6G networks must also be validated through practical experimentation, proof-of-concepts and real-world deployments. The webinar was structured around 3 complementary perspectives, demonstrating the complete innovation pathway from research to sensing-enabled intelligence and large-scale validation.

The webinar featured presentations from experts representing all 3 projects.

1. 6G-MUSICAL: ISAC Technologies, Proof-of-Concepts and Network Evolution. Representing 6G-MUSICAL, Professor Izzat Darwazeh (University College London) introduced the project’s vision of integrating communications, sensing and localisation into a unified 6G architecture. The presentation highlighted advances in joint communication and sensing waveforms, cell-free massive MIMO, optical synchronisation and sub-centimetre positioning, demonstrating how the project’s research establishes the technological foundations for future perceptive 6G networks. The session continued with Professor Paulo Monteiro (Instituto de Telecomunicações), who presented the project’s proof-of-concept activities, showcasing how advanced antennas, photonic synchronisation, metasurfaces and distributed radio architectures are being validated through laboratory prototypes and field trials. The presentation demonstrated the transition from low-TRL research towards practical experimentation in realistic deployment environments.
2. 6G-SENSES: Transforming Sensing into Intelligent Network Capabilities. Dr. Jesús Gutiérrez (IHP) presented the 6G-SENSES vision of integrating sensing capabilities into future radio access networks through multi-technology ISAC platforms aligned with 3GPP and O-RAN principles. The presentation showcased developments in sensing-enabled radio units, intelligent control planes, AI-driven network optimisation and distributed sensing architectures, demonstrating how sensing data can become a native capability of future 6G networks.
3. 6G-PATH: From Experimentation to Large-Scale Vertical Validation. Representing 6G-PATH, Almudena Díaz Zayas presented the project’s large-scale experimentation framework, explaining how common methodologies, KPIs and integrated testbeds enable the validation of advanced 5G and 6G technologies across four key verticals: health, education, smart cities and farming. The presentation illustrated how structured experimentation, performance evaluation and real-world trials bridge the gap between research innovations and future commercial deployment.

Following the presentations, speakers participated in an engaging panel discussion addressing questions from participants on topics including proof-of-concept integration, ISAC experimentation, O-RAN implementation, real-world deployment challenges, network slicing, positioning accuracy and future 6G applications.

Discussions highlighted that collaboration across research projects is essential to accelerate innovation, while real-world validation remains a critical step towards future commercial deployment. Panellists also explored the transformative potential of centimetre-level positioning, autonomous mobility, UAV applications and sensing-as-a-service capabilities in future 6G ecosystems.

Closing the webinar, Gianna Avgousti (eBOS, 6G-MUSICAL) summarised the key takeaways, emphasising that future 6G networks are evolving beyond communications towards integrated sensing and intelligence. She highlighted that the collaboration between 6G-MUSICAL, 6G-SENSES and 6G-PATH demonstrates a continuous innovation cycle, from foundational research through sensing-enabled technologies to large-scale trials and real-world validation, bringing Europe one step closer to deploying next-generation 6G networks.

The webinar recording will soon be available on the 6G-MUSICAL YouTube channel, enabling the wider research community to revisit the presentations and discussions.