The first 6G standardization efforts are about to start, shaping the new generation of mobile networks. The IMT-2030 extends the IMT-2020 by expanding its usage scenarios to Immersive, Massive, and Hyper-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications. It also introduces novel scenarios by integrating Artificial Intelligence and Sensing with Communication and supporting Ubiquitous Connectivity. Compared to the previous generation, 6G is expected to improve not only throughput and latency, but also coverage and energy efficiency. A paradigm called Goal-Oriented (GO) communications has recently emerged as a promising solution to improve network efficiency. It relies on the fact that the goal of the communication network is to achieve a specific task with a defined accuracy, rather than creating perfect data delivery. Intelligent devices can pre-process data to send only what is relevant to achieve the task, thus saving precious network resources and energy. Recent works demonstrate that incorporating service- and application-level KPIs in the network allows to achieve higher communication efficiency for devices, but the consequence of using such techniques on the network itself has not yet been explored. This paper proposes a practical end-to-end framework to assess energy consumption, latency, and goal accuracy KPIs, which includes a Multi-Objective optimization model to evaluate the trade-offs between the multiple KPIs relevant to GO networking. We demonstrate, through simulation, that the network can benefit from the application of the GO paradigm, indicating its potential in future network architectures.

翻译：首批6G标准化工作即将启动，新一代移动网络正在成型。IMT-2030在IMT-2020基础上扩展应用场景，新增沉浸式通信、海量通信与超可靠低延迟通信，并通过融合人工智能与感知通信、支持泛在连接引入全新场景。相较上一代，6G不仅将提升吞吐量与延迟性能，更将在覆盖范围和能效方面实现突破。目标导向（GO）通信作为一种新型范式，近期被证实是提升网络效率的有效方案。该理念基于通信网络的核心目标是按特定精度完成具体任务而非完美数据传递这一认知。智能设备可对数据进行预处理，仅传输任务相关的关键信息，从而节省宝贵的网络资源与能耗。现有研究表明，将服务级和应用级关键绩效指标（KPI）纳入网络管理可提升设备通信效率，但该技术对网络自身的影响尚未得到充分探索。本文提出一种实用的端到端评估框架，用以量化能耗、延迟与任务精度KPI，并建立多目标优化模型评估目标导向网络中多个KPI间的权衡关系。通过仿真验证，我们证明网络可从目标导向范式的应用中获益，预示其在未来网络架构中的发展潜力。