Mr. Lehmann, you brought an antenna with you for our interview. What does this antenna say about your project?

This is a small mobile device, a mini rooter. It has multiple antennas and a 5G module. We are currently testing the possibilities of setting up a disaster network in the future. This could be useful in the event of natural disasters such as in the Ahr Valley or when emergency doctors are deployed in the ambulance. To conduct these tests and conduct in-depth research, we are building a 5G campus network at our university. We have already obtained the frequencies for this.

How can your research project help with the major societal challenges and contribute to making the future a little bit better?

The new 5G and 6G networks offer whole new possibilities as they are more resilient and stable with much better coverage, higher bandwidth and faster response times. We can use it to supply several hundred thousand users at the same time. Let's take the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley as an example: You couldn't communicate there because there was no cellphone network. With the mini-rooter and next-generation networks, we would have the opportunity to build a mesh network to ensure a resilient communications infrastructure.

What does the project mean to you personally? Is it a matter close to your heart or is it one project among many?

I have been doing research in a research group on telecommunications networks for 15 years. So my personal interest is very great in examining and designing modern networks, understanding their architectures and developing them further. I also see a great opportunity here to do something good for society. We are working to be able to provide telecommunications when needed much better than before. In addition, we learn new things that we are happy to pass on to our students.

Thank you for the interview!