As new and emerging technologies take hold everywhere, research continues to shed light on their full implications for societies, economies, and ongoing tech innovation worldwide.
The symbiosis of society and technology will be in full view at ITU Kaleidoscope 2021: Connecting physical and virtual worlds, 6-10 December online, with this year's conference sharing expert insights on the growing synergy between physical and virtual space and this synergy's influence on art and culture.
Check out the conference programme and register to participate.
Kaleidoscope conferences organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) provide a peer-reviewed academic forum on emerging research trends and their implications for international standardization.
Papers accepted for presentation at the 2021 conference will explore: the prospects for future wireless networks; networking innovations for the Internet of Things (IoT) and industrial applications; new possibilities introduced by advances in augmented reality and machine learning; and the security dimensions of a world increasingly mirrored in cyberspace.
This year's conference agenda
The conference will also feature keynote speeches, invited talks, special sessions and video demos, as well as coffee breaks hosting digitally enhanced art exhibitions and dance performances.
Keynotes will look ahead towards mobile-connected intelligence, sustainability, and spectrum management in the 6G era. They will also explore key ethical questions for the transition to smart cities and consider how future communications tech could engage all five human senses.
Invited speakers will share research on a serverless approach for IoT, an ITU standardization perspective on quantum key distribution networks for trust in 5G and beyond, and a proposal to accelerate the adoption of virtual reality in medical training.
Two special sessions will explore the cultural dimensions of digital transformation, with the first considering the reciprocal relationship emerging between digital technologies and cultural heritage, and the second looking 20 years ahead to forecast the future of art, culture, and technology.
Video demos will showcase 5G and beyond-5G system simulations, eco-friendly tethered drones to monitor electromagnetic fields, standardization bolstering cyber defence in Africa, and ways to discover security vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
Publication channels
All papers accepted and presented at the conference are to be published in the Kaleidoscope Proceedings and the IEEE Xplore Digital Library. Outstanding papers may also be published in the IEEE Communications Standards Magazine.
Authors of the three best papers will receive special recognition and share in a prize fund of 6,000 Swiss francs (CHF). The best video demo will also receive an award, while authors up to the age of 30 years who present accepted papers at the conference will receive Young Author Recognition Certificates.
ITU Kaleidoscope 2021 is organized with the technical co-sponsorship of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the IEEE Communications Society and organized in partnership with Waseda University, the Institute of Image Electronics Engineers of Japan, the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan, the Chair of Communication and Distributed Systems at RWTH Aachen University, the European Academy for Standardization, the University of the Basque Country, Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Limerick, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Virtual Switzerland, and Confirm Smart Manufacturing.
Opportunities for research communities
The ITU Journal and ITU Academia membership form two more key avenues for academics to engage in ITU's work.
The ITU Journal on Future and Evolving Technologies provides comprehensive coverage of communications and networking paradigms. Free of charge for both readers and authors, the journal welcomes papers all year, on all topics.
ITU Academia members can take part in the dedicated ITU expert groups responsible for radiocommunication, standardization and development - vital contributions that strengthen the work of ITU and boost the impact to research in these fields.
Learn more about ITU Academia membership.
