Emerson and Yonsei University Collaborate on 6G AI-RAN Research for Energy Efficiency

AUSTIN, Texas (Dec. 15, 2025) - Emerson and Yonsei University have announced a strategic research collaboration aimed at improving energy efficiency in sixth generation (6G) wireless networks. The collaboration centers on developing a testbed for artificial intelligence research to enhance the environmental sustainability of radio access networks using innovative technology called AI-RAN.

"This collaboration targets one of the telecom industry's most pressing challenges: reducing the energy consumption of radio access networks, which account for the majority of emissions in mobile infrastructure," said Dr. Chan-Byoung Chae, Underwood Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University.

"Our lab has been working on AI-RAN technologies that enable real-time control of wireless base stations through AI inference and scheduling. Partnering with Emerson allows us to validate these algorithms in a real-world test environment and demonstrate tangible energy-saving performance. This collaboration bridges academic innovation and industrial test platforms, showing how AI can make next-generation networks both smarter and more sustainable."

Yonsei University is leveraging machine learning models to dynamically adjust base station behavior depending on traffic load, environmental conditions and user patterns. The goal is to reduce power consumption without compromising performance-a critical requirement for economically viable 6G deployments.

Early findings from the research suggest that the ML models could reduce base station power use by approximately 33% compared to the current RF on/off switching technique, representing a significant reduction in overall network consumption. In the United States alone, cellular base station equipment consumes an estimated 21 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually-roughly equivalent to the power used by two million households.

To support the research, Emerson will provide timing and synchronization expertise, NI CompactRIO power monitoring hardware, and NI USRP software-defined radios. These technologies form the backbone of the testbed, which correlates key wireless performance indicators with real-time power data, allowing researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of AI models at the system level and fine-tune them for maximum energy savings.

"This collaboration reflects the wireless industry's shift toward smarter, more sustainable networks," said René Nuessgen, senior director of research and development at Emerson's test and measurement business. "By combining NI's innovative platform of test technologies with Yonsei University's deep expertise in machine learning, we're helping to define what 6G sustainability will look like in the next era of mobile network standards."

The testbed was publicly demonstrated for the first time at the 2025 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), showcasing the collaboration's early results and its potential to set new benchmarks for energy-efficient wireless infrastructure.

To learn more about this collaboration, read the most recent Perspectives article.

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