How the 6G Test Centre takes companies from the laboratory to field trials

Companies developing communications technology for defence can test it at the 6G Test Centre, from the first laboratory measurement to field trials at Base Aurora in Oulu. Director Hannu Nikurautio described the route at the Northern Security and Economy Forum in Oulu on 11 November.

“We help the companies with their journey,” Nikurautio said. The work starts from what the customer needs and how mature the technology is. In the laboratory, tests can be repeated until the product improves. System-level tests in the Centre’s hybrid test network then show whether a solution works as part of a larger whole.

The last stage is the field. At Base Aurora, the test network lets the team build demonstrations quickly, and the site holds wide permits for drone flights. A Ministry of Defence programme worth €4.8 million, delivered by the University of Oulu, VTT, Nokia Defense, and Telia, aims to make the network infrastructure permanent. “We don’t need to always spend half a year to plan it or build it,” Nikurautio said.

Solutions that pass the field trials can go on to live experiments run by the Finnish Defence Forces. Many capabilities along the technology chain, from sensors and hybrid networks to artificial intelligence and command and control systems, have already been integrated and demonstrated at Base Aurora, including at the NATO Innovation Range Capability Demonstrator in October. Demonstrations work best, Nikurautio said, when operational users, decision-makers, and potential customers can see at first hand how technologies from different companies work together.

Defence sets a different bar for reliability

Toni Lindén, CEO of KNL Networks, spoke on the same panel. He said such test facilities do not exist in Central Europe. “It’s essential for companies to be able to test in the field, because the reliability requirements for defence use are at a totally different level than for commercial use.”

Commodore Jukka Anteroinen, Chief of Planning in the Finnish Defence Forces, pointed to an information gap between the armed forces and industry. “We know what we need, they know how to do it.”

Nikurautio already sees many proven technologies, and users who need them. “I would like to see them getting into business faster,” he said.

The 6G Test Centre at the University of Oulu is a test centre of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) and part of the 6G Flagship research programme. Companies interested in testing or research partnerships can get in touch through the contact page.