Nano (and Micro) Technologies as Pillars of Edge Intelligence in the Emerging Paradigms of 6G, Future Networks and Super-IoT

Planning for future communication networks, like 6G and Future Networks (FN), is pushing the boundaries of hardware technology. This paper explores how tiny sensors and actuators, based on Nano and Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (NEMS/MEMS), can play a crucial role, especially at the network edge. First, key concepts to understand the needs of these future networks and how NEMS/MEMS can address them, are going to be defined. Then, existing research examples in NEMS/MEMS materials, devices, and systems, all relevant to the development of6G and FN, will be reported.