Stream 4: Free Space Optics
Programmable Optical Surfaces for 6G: Resilience, Security, and Integrated Sensing
Dr Hanaa Abumarshoud, James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow
This talk presents recent advances showing how reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) reshape optical wireless channel behaviour, enhance performance, and enable new functionalities. The first part focuses on LED-based visible light communications , highlighting how RIS technology opens the door to a whole new realm of wireless applications in which the propagation medium is no longer an impediment, but rather an additional degree of freedom. Experimental and analytical results illustrate how these effects can be harnessed to strengthen link performance and enhance physical-layer security. The talk then introduces a VCSEL-based light-emitting RIS architecture that supports mmWave communications by enabling light-based localisation and sensing with millimetre-level accuracy, resulting in notable improvements in spectral efficiency and robustness.
Roll out of Satellite Optical Networks
Kasia Balakier, Optical & Quantum Communication Technology Manager Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communications, ESA – European Space Agency
The talk will present an overview of project and activities dedicated to development and fast deployment of global satellite optical networks. ESA’s High Throughput Optical Network (HydRON) project envisions a future where terrestrial high-capacity networks seamlessly extend into space, creating “Internet beyond the cloud(s)”. Through the Scylight programme, ESA aims to integrate optical non-terrestrial network with terrestrial fibre networks, ultimately establishing a robust and interoperable, multi-dimensional optical network, spanning across various orbital and atmospheric layers all the way to the bottom of the sea.
STARNET: an end-to-end coherent optical satellite network communication challenges and opportunities
Donald Govan, Photonics Coherent Architect, Mbryonics
Starnet provides a unified architecture for end-to-end coherent optical networking across multi-orbit and cross-constellation domains. The framework replaces static point-to-point links with a dynamic mesh, utilising coherent channels to compensate for Doppler shifts and the dynamic channel in high-mobility LEO-GEO segments. By integrating SDN control with OpenROADM/OpenZR+ standards, Starnet enables seamless terrestrial OTN mapping and latency-aware routing. This scalable approach supports orbital AI data centers and mobile backhaul, aligning with ESA’s HydRON initiative to overcome the physical constraints of traditional space-based IP networks through resilient, high-capacity optical paths.
Back to Conference Programme Stream: Intelligent Optical Networks