On June 10, we will be presenting a tutorial on openwifi and its TSN extensions at the 21st International Conference on Factory Communication Systems (WFCS 2025) conference in Rostock. This event is a great opportunity to dive into the latest advancements in openwifi and its wireless time-sensitive networking capabilities. Our tutorial will cover the innovative features of openwifi, including its seamless integration with TSN, which ensures reliable and low-latency communication for critical applications. Whether you're a researcher, developer, or industry professional, this session promises to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge. Don't miss out on this chance to learn from experts and explore the future of wireless networking!

For indoor connectivity, Wi-Fi technology is indispensable and it is assumed that future 6G networks can take advantage of advanced Wi-Fi technology. End 2019, the IDLab research group of imec and Ghent University released openwifi as the final outcome of the H2020 project ORCA. Today, openwifi has matured and is used to conduct research in the realm of 6G.
To serve emerging critical applications that demand predictable performance, such as bounded low latency, low jitter and ultra-high reliability, the openwifi design has been extended with time-sensitive networking (TSN) enablers such as time synchronization, time-triggered scheduling, real-time telemetry, etc. bringing Ethernet TSN concepts to the wireless domain. Today, the design is being used in UNITY-6G to explore the convergence of Wi-Fi and TSN with 3GPP and O-RAN technology in the context of non-public networks for industrial automation.
Next to this, in 6G-MUSICAL, the open design is being leveraged to perform accurate sensing and explore joint communication and sensing techniques. Both capabilities, namely wireless time-sensitive networking and advanced sensing will be demonstrated.

On May 20-21, 2025, imec will be showcasing groundbreaking innovations at ITF World. We will be there with a demo booth titled "Wi-Fi Your Way: Customized Solutions with openwifi," where we will present two exciting demos. The first demo will highlight deterministic wireless communication using imec's Wireless TSN (W-TSN) Evaluation Kit, allowing visitors to visualize end-to-end latency and interact with scheduling parameters to see the impact on latency. The second demo will feature real-time breath rate detection using Wi-Fi radar mode, enabling visitors to monitor their breath rate without body-attached sensors. This is a unique opportunity to explore the future of wireless networking and witness imec's innovative solutions.

An emerging requirement in communications is guaranteed and predictable network performance. In reply, the latest Wi-Fi generations bring more efficient and more reliable wireless connectivity. In this webinar, we discussed key features to support low latency and improve reliability, features that are present in Wi-Fi 6 or are planned to be incorporated in Wi-Fi 7 and 8. When such features become available but also controllable and customizable, Wi-Fi can become an interesting candidate to extend time-sensitive networking (TSN) from the wired to the wireless domain. This will be illustrated through imec’s customizable Wi-Fi design.

On October 15, 2024, the Symposium on 6G Communications was organized by Jorge Pereira and Latif Ladid as part of the IEEE Future Networks World Forum 2024. We were happy to be invited to share our 6GSpecNet vision, advocating specialized deterministic connectivity for demanding markets, and how it can be realized within the scope of Wi-Fi and 3GPP in general and leveraging openwifi in particular.

At imec ITF world 2024, we showcased our innovative end-to-end wired/wireless time-sensitive connectivity for high-end applications like industrial automation and professional multimedia. The demo highlighted Wi-Fi's potential with time-sensitive extensions as a cost-effective technology meeting 5G URLLC targets, especially for local and indoor deployments. Imec's openwifi platform demonstrated a full-stack Wi-Fi design integrating seamlessly with Time-Sensitive Ethernet, enabling uninterrupted, low-latency audio communication using a robot. Another demo featured a customized openwifi Access Point managing COTS consumer devices with Wi-Fi 6 chipsets, illustrating high-end solutions beyond the Wi-Fi standard. Additionally, we showcased our SDN/TSN Controller architecture for seamless management of wired and wireless TSN networks, providing TSN and slicing capabilities on existing COTS devices.

Vision of Future Communications Summit (https://futurecomresearch.eu/) is a top-quality research workshop, oriented to identify key research areas in information and communication technologies in the mid-future of 7 to 10 years. A this workshop, we share our vision on the design of wireless(-wired) communication systems. Starting from use cases, the talk identified issues with current system design to come to 7Guiding principles for future deterministic communication systems.

The international TSN/A Conference provides a unique platform to showcase the latest developments and applications of Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and related communication standards. In 2023, we were present for the second time to talk about the limitations of COTS Wi-Fi for TSN (research), the versatile openwifi design and how it is being leveraged to achieve progress in the domain of wireless TSN.

In June 2023, NIST held an online workshop on “Deployment Architectures and Technologies for Enhancing the Performance of Industrial Wireless Systems.” Approximately 100 people attended. The workshop explored the latest developments that could enhance the performance of wireless systems for critical industrial applications. We were present to discuss our white box open-source openwifi platform and showcase how it can bring innovation and performance enhancements.

This main FITCE.be symposium of 2022 gave a state of affairs on 5G. Amid all the 5G presentations, we were happy to also shed a light on the importance of Wi-Fi, its continuous evolution to fulfill ever more demanding use cases and the complementary position it takes next to 5G (in particular indoor).

Wireless time-sensitive networking is a growing domain that is of interest to applications such as industrial processes, professional audio/video, or mission-critical communication. Our open-source Wi-Fi implementation has been extended and made interoperable with wired time-sensitive networks. It achieves microseconds time-synchronization accuracy and milliseconds end-to-end latency. In this demo, the platform was showcased by means of a time-sensitive balance ball application.

The openwifi stand at FOSDEM 2022 showcased our innovative open-source Wi-Fi chip design that can be implemented on commercial off-the-shelf FPGA boards. This initiative allows users to download the design onto their boards and utilize FPGA-based Wi-Fi similarly to other commercial Wi-Fi chips. The event highlighted the dynamic loading feature, enabling new FPGA and driver configurations to be loaded in just five seconds without requiring a reboot. Attendees were introduced to the potential of this technology to revolutionize Wi-Fi chip usage by offering flexibility and customization. The stand also provided insights into the future plans and ongoing progress of the openwifi project, emphasizing its commitment to open-source development and community collaboration.

During this purely virtual edition of the Time-Sensitive Networks and Applications (TSN/A) conference, we had the opportunity to present our recent advances on the realization of wireless time-sensitive networking with our openwifi platform. During the wireless session, we touched upon openwifi, time synchronization, scheduling, verification using in-band telemetry, bootstrapping and application-network integration.

This article discusses our open-source chip designed for wireless Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) that aims to integrate TSN capabilities into Wi-Fi networks, providing precise time synchronization and low-latency communication. The open-source nature of the chip allows for extensive customization and innovation, making it suitable for various industrial applications. The chip's design ensures compatibility with existing Wi-Fi standards while enhancing performance for time-sensitive tasks. This development represents a significant step towards more efficient and reliable wireless communication in industrial environments.

This article discusses the critical role of precise time synchronization in wireless networks, particularly for industrial applications. It explores various technology options for deploying wireless Time-Sensitive Networks (TSNs) and emphasizes the importance of achieving microsecond-level accuracy to ensure reliable and low-latency communication. The publication highlights the challenges and solutions in integrating TSN capabilities into wireless systems, making it a must-read for professionals seeking to enhance network performance in time-sensitive scenarios. By addressing these challenges, the article provides valuable insights into the future of wireless communication and its potential to revolutionize industries reliant on precise timing.

In 2021, we were present at the digital edition of Hannover Messe, as part of the 5G-ACIA event during which various contributions of 5G-ACIA members were livestreamed. Our presentation focused on benchmarking of wireless TSN solutions and real-time verification of end-to-end network performance.