German-Japanese Resilient 6G Networking Challenge 2025 for rescue robotics

From October 7 to 9, 2025, research teams from the BMFTR-funded 6G research hubs 6GEM and 6G-Life gathered at the Training Base Weeze—Europe’s largest training site for first responders—for the first Resilient 6G Networking Challenge. The event was hosted by the German Rescue Robotics Center (DRZ) as part of the BMBF-funded German-Japanese 6G cooperation activities. The challenge aimed to validate research results related to the resilient control of rescue robots in realistic emergency response scenarios, such as search-and-rescue (SAR) missions and chemical incidents. Participants from 6GEM (TU Dortmund), 6G-Life (TU Munich and TU Dresden), and Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) demonstrated resilient 6G network solutions for mobile rescue robots and evaluated how multi-connectivity approaches perform under real-world conditions. The teams showcased various networking technologies—including cellular, mesh, and non-terrestrial links—and their seamless integration to maintain uninterrupted connectivity even in harsh environments. First responders from DRZ joined the experiments to experience immersive teleoperation of rescue robots over 6G links. To highlight interoperability, a diverse fleet of ground and aerial robots was deployed in the demonstrations. TU Dortmund contributed for 6GEM its multi-link technology SEAMLESS and adaptive video streaming framework RISE, combining cellular, mesh, and satellite communications into a unified, resilient 6G networking solution enabling immersive robot control. TU Dortmund also operated its 6G-evolved Open RAN testbed O-RACES to support multi-link teleoperation and presented an automated mesh-node deployment mechanism for restoring coverage in obstructed environments, such as within buildings.