Master Thesis: Networked Robot Control over 5G/6G Networks

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About the opportunity

Ericsson Research develops innovative communication solutions, system concepts, and technologies that shape the mobile networks of today and tomorrow. By combining experience from real-world network operations with extensive knowledge of existing standards and forward-looking research, Ericsson Research contributes to the development of mobile radio communication from 5G to 6G and beyond.

The Radio Research area focuses on advanced system and signal-processing solutions for radio-access networks, including multi-antenna technologies. Future 5G and 6G networks will support demanding applications such as mobile broadband, the Internet of Things, and machine-type communication. Networked robotics—including cloud robotics, teleoperated robots, and multi-robot systems—represents one of the most challenging use cases. These systems depend on reliable communication for control loops, sensor feedback, and video streams.

Factors such as latency, jitter, throughput, and packet loss can significantly affect robotic performance. However, network configuration and robot performance are often considered separately. A better understanding of the relationship between communication performance and robotic performance could enable robots to request the level of network resources they need for a specific task, avoiding both over- and under-provisioning.

What you will do

The objective of this master’s thesis is to investigate how 5G and 6G network performance affects the operation of networked robotic systems. The work will be conducted using an existing testbed connected through a real 5G network with configurable network infrastructure.

During the thesis, you will:

• Investigate how network parameters such as latency, throughput, jitter, and packet loss affect robotic performance.
• Study application-level outcomes such as control accuracy, task completion time, task success rate, and teleoperation stability.
• Develop mathematical models that describe the relationship between network performance and robot performance.
• Derive and evaluate an empirical utility function for mapping network conditions to robotic performance.
• Investigate whether the proposed mapping can be applied to different robotic systems and control architectures, or whether it needs to be learned separately for each system.
• Propose and evaluate a method for selecting a suitable network operating point based on the robot’s task and performance requirements.
• Analyse the results and identify potential improvements for future networked robotic systems.

The specific scope of the thesis may be adapted to the candidate’s background and research interests.

The skills you bring

We are looking for a candidate who:

• Is pursuing an MSc in Engineering Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Has strong programming skills in Python, MATLAB, or similar tools.
• Has excellent mathematical knowledge.
• Is interested in algorithm development, modelling, experimentation, and testing.
• Has strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Is eager to develop innovative solutions to challenging problems.
• Has knowledge of robotics, control theory, or related areas.
• Has a sound understanding of digital and wireless communications.

When applying, please include a record of your completed courses together with your grades.