ERICSSON-CARLETON MOBILE WIRELESS LAB & DRONE LAB
Carleton University and Ericsson Canada inaugurated the Ericsson-Carleton 5G Drone Lab on June 24. The day’s event included a first-hand tour of the cutting-edge technology shaping the future of advanced autonomous navigation.
Government, industry and media representatives attended the event which offered a comprehensive overview of 5G wireless technology advancements and their transformative potential across various sectors, such as telecommunications, transportation and public safety.
Speakers included Rafik Goubran, Vice-President (Research & International) and Chancellor's Professor, Carleton University, Marcos Cavaletti, Senior Advisor and Head of Ottawa Site, Ericsson Canada, and Chancellor’s Professor Ioannis Lambadaris, the Ericsson Chair in 5G Wireless Research, who provided insights into the lab’s research focus. Using a 5G wireless network to control drones remotely, researchers are advancing solutions for real-world challenges from delivering packages to exploring environments unsafe to humans.
In 2024, the Ericsson-Carleton Mobile Wireless Lab reached a major milestone by establishing a fully operational 5G Core. This cutting-edge network empowers students and researchers within the 5G Lab to leverage Ericsson's advanced wireless technology to experiment and develop new solutions for the 5G era.
Carleton is the only academic institution in Canada that boasts an in-house private 5G lab, offering researchers a controlled setting for testing, which also serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration. This unique environment promotes innovation through the synergy of ideas and expertise shared between Ericsson and Carleton researchers.
Located in Carleton’s ARISE building, the lab enhances the educational experience by focusing on student-driven project research and innovative programs. Students can experiment with advanced 5G technology and work alongside Ericsson and Carleton researchers, bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical application. This experience equips students with valuable skills for their future careers.
The lab’s state-of-the-art technology also creates a dynamic and engaging environment for teaching and course development. It provides students and professionals with hands-on learning opportunities in live 5G networks, ensuring they acquire the expertise needed to thrive in the evolving 5G landscape.
The Ericsson-Carleton Drone Lab is a platform for innovation – the first university lab in Canada with an Ericsson Indoor 5G RDS network, and the only place in Canada where graduate students and researchers have access to a private standalone 5G network. This lab will enable world-class aero mobility research, innovation and next-generation talent in our region, and is a special part of the Ericsson-Carleton Mobile Wireless Lab.
Marcos Cavaletti Senior Advisor and Head of Ottawa Site
5G Lab Outcomes
Earlier in the spring, the installation of the 5G Core in the ARISE building was finalized. This represents a major event that enables Carleton to have a completely in-house private standalone 5G network, which is accessible by faculty and student researchers. Carleton is the only university in Canada with such an advanced networking facility.
Furthermore, the Drone Lab is set up and fully functional. Safety netting was installed along with a state-of-the-art optical localization system, which can provide accuracy to the millimetre. Drone interfacing and control over the 5G standalone network has been completed and a preliminary demonstration was showcased during the Ericsson-Carleton Drone Lab inauguration on June 24.
Projects utilizing the 5G lab:
Indoor Localization Using 5G Technologies
Researchers: Dr. Marsland, Dr. Naqvi, two grad students and one post-doc fellow
Real-time Control of Drones Using 5G
Researchers: Dr. Schwartz, Dr. Barbeau, Dr. Naqvi, two grad students and one post-doc fellow)
Indoor Co-existence Between 5G and Emerging Wireless Technologies Researchers: Two grad students supervised by Dr. Lambadaris
Radio Smart Debugging Tool with Machine Learning Modules
Researchers: Post-doc fellow Dr. Avgeris, supervised by Dr. Leivadeas and Dr. Lambadaris
Online Learning and Optimization
Researchers: Post-doc fellow Dr. Sid-Ali, supervised by Dr. Lambadaris, Dr. Zhao and Dr. Shaikhet)
Optimized Antenna Selection for Power-Efficient Hybrid Beamforming in 5G and Beyond Using Machine Learning
Researchers: Post-doc fellow Dr. Anarakifirooz, Dr. Lambadaris, Dr. Marsland, Dr. Naqvi and Dr. Halabian (Ericsson)
Networked Autonomous Navigation
Researchers: Ph.D. candidate Ehsan Adel Rastkhiz, Dr. Lambadaris, Dr. Schwartz, Dr. Naqvi and Hai Wang (Ericsson)
Multi-Agent Consensus Flying for Remote Localization and Mapping
Researchers: Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Tayeffe, Dr. Lambadaris, Dr. Schwartz, Dr. Barbeau, Dr. Naqvi and Hai Wang (Ericsson)
The Application of Multi-Objective Fuzzy Q-Learning in Drone Path Following
Researchers: Post-doc researcher Dr. Asgharnia, Dr. Lambadaris, Dr. Schwartz, Dr. Barbeau, Dr. Naqvi and Hai Wang (Ericsson)
Navio2 Autopilot Board Integration for a Quadcopter
Researchers: Ph.D. candidate Mahrokh Hosseinkhani, Dr. Lambadaris, Dr. Schwartz, Dr. Barbeau, post-doc researcher Dr. Asgharnia and Hai Wang (Ericsson)
5G-TSN Integration for Industrial Automation
Researchers: Ph.D. candidates Mohammed Abuibaid, Amir Ghorab and Aysun Saruhan, Dr. St-Hilaire, Glenn Parsons (Ericsson), János Farkas (Ericsson), Balázs Varga (Ericsson), Ferenc Fejes (Ericsson), János Harmatos (Ericsson)
RLAD: An End-to-end Smart Radio Log Anomaly Detection Architecture for 5G/6G Networks
Researchers: Post-doc fellow Dr. Avgeris, post-doc researcher Dr. Hameed, Dr. Leivadeas, Dr. Lambadaris and Brian Le (Ericsson)
