200 million in faster and energy-efficient ICT
SSF distributes close to SEK 200 million in framework grants within the research program Computing and Hardware for ICT Infrastructures (SSF CHI). The announcement is aimed at hardware for the next generation of wireless communication (6G), accelerated computing power and more energy-efficient ICT.
Six projects are financed with between SEK 28 and 35 million each for five years. Together, they have the potential to strengthen Sweden’s position in important areas for our industry and competitiveness. Of particular interest is that four of the six proposed projects have the theme of energy efficiency in common. This is strategically very important as the ICT sector’s dramatically increasing energy consumption is receiving increasing attention, says Jonas Bjarne, research secretary at SSF.
The projects are, for example, about developing radically new technology for wireless communication, where entire surfaces are covered with electromagnetically active panels. The surfaces then act as base stations. Or about optical data links to enable more powerful computers and computing systems. It can be combined with Terahertz technology for wireless data communication and be part of leading the Swedish microwave and telecom industry through and past 5G.
Another project focuses on how electronics can be integrated in interaction with our movements and bodies. Smart mobile phones and bracelets will provide space for body-worn networks of sensors, screens and smart devices in our clothes, on our skin or even as implants. An “Internet of Senses” is made possible. Another one does away with the classic van Neuman computer architecture and extends silicon technology through massively parallel computer chips with 3D integration. Such chips also offer a more intuitive programming model. Finally, a project focuses on a low-energy, battery-free Internet of Things, for applications in healthcare and remote monitoring.
The research projects now receiving funding also include collaborations with large industrial companies such as Volvo Cars, Saab, Vattenfall, Sandvik, Mycronic, Sony Europe, IKEA and Ericsson. Furthermore, the projects collaborate with a number of smaller companies as well as with the EU’s major international research programs in the field of ICT.
The following projects are funded:
| Project leader | Grant (SEK) | Project titel |
| Ove Edfors, Lunds universitet | 32 577 248 | Large Intelligent Surfaces – Architecture and Hardware |
| Klas Hjort, Uppsala universitet | 32 370 440 | Hardware for Energy Efficient Bodynets |
| Anders Larsson, Chalmers | 32 253 449 | Optical Interconnects for Harsh Computing Environments |
| Joachim Oberhammer, KTH | 35 000 000 | THz communication-NOW |
| Per Stenström, Chalmers | 28 086 883 | PRIDE: Principles for Computing Memory Devices |
| Thiemo Voigt, Uppsala universitet | 31 977 212 | ZeroIoT: Enabling the Battery-free Internet of Things |