Project DONUTS

Overview

The DONUTS project aims to design a space-air-ground continuum to ensure seamless connectivity and deterministic latency in mobile networks. It requires optimizing network functions and resources in response to dynamic conditions, including infrastructure mobility. A multi-scale digital twin will assess the impact of adaptation strategies, calibrated using real-world measurements and analytical models.

• Emmanuel Lavinal, IRIT (coordinator)
• Thomas Begin, LIP
• Siwar Ben Hadj Said, CEA
• Martin Heusse, LIG
• Philippe Owezarski, LAAS
• Fabrice Theoleyre, ICube
• Fabrice Valois, CITI

At the heart of DONUTS is the design and construction of a space-air-ground continuum to enable continuous connectivity and seamless transitions across different network segments. This involves optimizing network function placement and efficient resource management across diverse technologies and scales.

Ensuring deterministic latency is also a key challenge, particularly for real-time applications in mobile networks. Additionally, infrastructure mobility introduces another level of dynamic complexity, beyond traditional factors such as variable traffic demand and link quality fluctuations.

To address these challenges, predictive algorithms and adaptive strategies must be developed to continuously adjust to changing network conditions. A multi-scale, multi-technology digital twin will be used to evaluate these decision-making processes. Data collected from real-world systems will help calibrate and validate the accuracy of the digital twin, while computational complexity will be managed using appropriate analytical models integrated into the twin.