Northeastern University Launches Open6G+AI: Toward an Open-Source Ecosystem to Accelerate AI-Powered End-to-End 6G Wireless Networks
NSF-funded initiative creates “Community of Communities” across leading open-source projects to build comprehensive AI-RAN development platform
BOSTON, MA, February 5, 2026 – Northeastern University’s Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems (INSI) announces Open6G+AI, a groundbreaking open-source ecosystem and architecture designed to accelerate innovation in AI-enabled Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN). Supported by a National Science Foundation grant (TI-2449452), the project addresses critical fragmentation in the open-source wireless research community by creating an integrated platform for end-to-end AI-RAN development and testing.
The initiative brings together major open-source communities in the RAN space which contribute to the end-to-end Open6G+AI reference architecture. These include CU/DU stacks (e.g., OpenAirInterface), O-RAN components (from the O-RAN Software Community, OpenRAN Gym), core network and infrastructure management solutions. It will also coordinate with new emerging projects in this space. This includes open-source projects supported by the U.S. government, such as OCUDU (sponsored by OUSW(R&E)) and Linux Foundation Networking (LF Networking) efforts like Duranta and 5G Super Blueprints. OUSW(R&E) also funds research activities at Northeastern Open6G. The community-building effort will include outreach to key stakeholders and users of these platforms, including the AI-RAN Alliance, the SLICES project, PAWR platforms, and leading research institutions. Northeastern will work with AT&T, the OAI Foundation, and LF Networking on this effort.
“Researchers today face enormous challenges when trying to innovate at the intersection of AI and end-to-end wireless networks,” said Michele Polese, principal investigator of the Open6G+AI project and research associate professor at Northeastern University. “Setting up a functional end-to-end system requires expertise across multiple disconnected projects, each with their own roadmaps and integration requirements. When you add AI experimentation to this mix—which demands reproducibility, automated testing, and seamless data pipelines—the complexity becomes overwhelming. Researchers spend months just getting systems to work together instead of focusing on breakthrough innovations. The goal of Open6G+AI is to eliminate these barriers by providing a pre-integrated, automated platform where AI algorithms can be deployed and tested across the entire network stack without the traditional setup nightmares.”
The platform leverages Northeastern’s extensive infrastructure, including the Colosseum digital twin facility, X5G testbed, and can be deployed on PAWR platforms, to provide automated continuous integration and testing capabilities. A key innovation is the system’s ability to perform both over-the-air testing with real hardware and emulated testing in digital twin environments, enabling comprehensive validation of AI-RAN solutions.
“The evolution toward AI-RAN represents one of the most significant transformations in wireless technology, but realizing its full potential requires unprecedented collaboration across the ecosystem,” said Alex Choi, Chairman of the AI-RAN Alliance. “Open-source, end-to-end platforms like Open6G+AI are absolutely critical for AI-RAN development because they provide the common foundation where academic researchers, startups, and established vendors can contribute innovations that work together seamlessly. By creating this unified environment for AI-RAN experimentation, Open6G+AI accelerates the path from research breakthrough to real-world deployment, ultimately bringing the benefits of intelligent, adaptive networks to users worldwide.”
The Open6G+AI reference architecture encompasses three key AI-RAN paradigms: AI-for-RAN (using AI to optimize network operations), AI-on-RAN (running AI applications at the network edge), and AI-and-RAN (joint optimization of AI and RAN resources). The platform provides reference implementations using Kubernetes and Docker containers for rapid deployment, along with comprehensive documentation and automated testing pipelines, capitalizing and extending CI/CD practices developed at Northeastern as part of the NTIA NOFO1 AutoRAN award.
Central to Open6GAI’s mission is building a vibrant research community through educational events and workshops. Beginning in Spring 2026 (March 30th-April 2nd), the Open6G+AI School will host workshops, tutorials, and hackathons at Northeastern University, including a unique scheduling generation competition leveraging the Open6G+AI framework.
For more information about Open6G+AI and how to participate, visit open6g.us/ai
About Northeastern University’s Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems. The Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems at Northeastern University conducts cutting-edge research in wireless communications, networking, and systems. Home to the Colosseum wireless network emulator and the Open6G initiative, the Institute leads multiple NSF-funded programs advancing the state of wireless technology.
Contact: Michele Polese, [email protected], Northeastern University.