Realising innovations for both businesses and society
In the FNS partner interviews, we feature a partner every week. Our partners give insight into developments and innovations within their organisation and their role at 6G Future Network Services.
In a recent interview, Andries Stam of Almende B.V. (hereafter Almende) gave insight into the company's involvement in FNS and their vision for the evolution towards 6G technology. Andries is currently chief executive officer at Almende (R&D). He holds a PhD in Philosophy in Computer Science from 2005 - 2009 from LIACS (Leiden University).
Almende
Almende is an innovative company working on R&D solutions applicable in various ICT domains. Founded in 2000 and based in Rotterdam, the company has a strong background in research and development, with close ties to academic institutions such as TU Delft. For over 20 years, the company has been involved in more than 80 research and development projects aimed at making the world smarter through self-organisation. In synergy with its innovation activities, Almende is a breeding ground for new ideas, startups and scale-ups and now has numerous spin-off companies. These companies are independent but fall under the umbrella of Almende Investments.
In the context of 6G technology, it is particularly important that Almende combines scientific insights with practical applications to design IT infrastructures that can manage and optimise themselves. Andries adds: "Almende is a bit of a special company. We sometimes call ourselves a mini TNO: we try to achieve impact by realising innovations for both businesses and society. However, our research focuses on one topic: complex systems and self-organisation."
The road to FNS
Almende's journey to participating in FNS began through an academic connection. "We got involved through a professor from TU Delft, Fernando Kuipers, with whom we had worked before. This connection led us to contribute to this new initiative," Andries explains.
Although Almende is not yet directly involved in the development of 6G technology, they see a lot of potential in its application. Andries explains, "We are not currently working directly with 6G, but we are very interested in exploring the application of self-organisation principles in managing such complex infrastructures."
Almende's participation in the FNS initiative represents an important step towards the advancement of network technologies and their management. By leveraging their expertise in self-organisation, Almende aims to contribute to the development of resilient, efficient and future-proof network infrastructures.
Approach for greater adaptivity and flexibility
Almende focuses on increasing adaptivity and flexibility within IT infrastructures by applying self-organising principles. The company aims to develop systems that can dynamically adapt to changing conditions and autonomously recover from disruptions. This approach makes networks more resilient and resistant to unexpected events. By integrating adaptive technologies, Almende can help develop future-proof networks that can seamlessly respond to the growing and changing demands of users and applications.
Cooperation essential
Almende's involvement in FNS (in Program Line 2) is part of a wider participation in Dutch and European research projects. Andries notes, "We are involved in many major research projects in the Netherlands, Europe and beyond. Although this is our first step in projects specifically related to 6G, we are eager to expand our efforts in this area if our initial efforts prove successful."
Andries stresses the importance of collaboration within the FNS initiative to create synergy and broaden the focus from purely technological advances to broader societal impact. "Our hope is that by working with various partners within FNS, we can not only advance technological innovations, but also develop solutions that directly contribute to societal challenges. It is important that we look not only at what is technologically possible, but also at how these technologies can contribute to a better and fairer world," he adds.
6G as a driver for social change
Discussing the future of 6G, Andries emphasised the crucial role that 6G will play: "By seamlessly integrating IoT devices with the cloud, we are creating an even more connected network infrastructure in which all forms of networks, including 6G and fibre-optic technology, can be exploited for faster exchange of larger amounts of data. This may lead to more and faster information processing. What that means for society, we do not yet know. It has significant challenges: security, privacy, energy consumption. But undoubtedly, it also provides numerous new opportunities that could improve our well-being and quality of life worldwide. With technologies like 6G, we are becoming even more connected. If we exploit this well, we can work together more effectively or perhaps completely new forms of organisation between people will emerge that will enable us to tackle global challenges such as climate change, for example. 6G is primarily a technological step forward, but who knows, it could also be a trigger for positive social change. In this way, we could make the world a little more beautiful," Andries concludes.
More about Almende B.V.