Dr. Bernd Schröder, together with Karsten Schmeling, is part of the management of brown-iposs GmbH, which he founded in 2006. The trained mathematician is particularly known for his calm manner—he approaches professional challenges and possible difficulties with deep technical expertise and, not least, a touch of humor. Two qualities that are certainly advantageous in research work. This also applies to the CampusOS project, which we discussed with him.
Question: Please introduce your company: What does brown-iposs do?
Bernd Schröder (BS): With the tools we have developed, AnalyTo and CARAT, we perform advanced root cause analysis that goes deeper than comparable solutions. In doing so, we take a end-to-end approach—from data acquisition to the classification of problems in the network all the way to resolution, whether automated or carried out by a human.
This enables us, among other things, to support the largest European mobile network operator in defending its top position in customer satisfaction rankings year after year.
We focus on how relevant data for this analysis customcan be captured and used. How can it be obtained? How is it consolidated and aggregated? Which data is relevant? This includes sorting, prioritization, and further analyses. Finally, the information is integrated into the workflow and processed with appropriate tools. For this purpose, we have developed two products for different use cases: AnalyTo, which focuses on large mobile networks and is highly configurable to individual requirements; and CARAT, which is based on open, standards-compliant interfaces, is O-RAN compatible, and can be deployed flexibly in a variety of technological environments.
5G promises flexibility
Question: What challenges arise in this context?
BS: The main requirement is to have a solid understanding of how the individual factors interact. This was one of the core topics in CampusOS: the promise of 5G is the integration of components, interoperability, and, in particular, greater flexibility. New mechanisms and new approaches have been developed here, which we explored together.
Question: What significance do private networks and their further development have for a digitalized society?
BS: Private networks serve as a central backbone for the digitalization of business processes, such as the control of material flows in logistics or the coordination of production robots in manufacturing. 5G offers these possibilities for smaller, specialized networks for the first time—and is significantly more reliable than, for example, Wi-Fi. This is why we are engaged in research projects such as CampusOS.
Question: How did this engagement take shape? What was brown-iposs’s role in the project?
BS: As part of the project, we implemented use cases for private networks, for example the smart warehouse with autonomous vehicles and robots. Reliable 5G coverage is required here, but achieving it is complex because logistics halls are characterized by shelves and steel structures that present challenges for radio-based solutions. With the help of CARAT, we were able to retrieve the transmission data in real time, aggregate it, and prepare it for an adapted heatmap of radio propagation. The heatmap highlights problems in radio coverage and provides possible solutions.
Another example is the “connected construction site,” based on the neutral-host model (shared infrastructure model) in which an operator provides network infrastructure that can be used by several network participants. A recurring challenge here is ensuring the fair allocation of available network resources. This is where we brought CARAT into play: in this virtual hosting environment, it captures the various data flows and can thus provide insight into whether the distribution is indeed fair.
Vendor-independent private networks
Question: What are the most important insights you gained from the project?
BS: The many successful prototype demonstrators during the project show that private networks can be built and used without having to depend on a few—or even individual—vendors. This alone is an important insight that CampusOS has delivered.
Beyond that, we have demonstrated the great value of O-RAN when it comes to interoperability among different components. Compared to closed systems, the open O-RAN system is significantly easier to handle and therefore better suited to ensuring reliable and secure network availability.
Question: How did the collaboration with the project partners work?
BS: The cooperation with the partner companies was certainly one of the major benefits the project brought—especially during the testing phases. Over the course of the collaboration, mutual trust developed, and through close collaboration we came to understand the capabilities and limitations of the partners involved. All of this leads into the follow-up initiative xG-ALOE, which aims at the further development of private networks, partner networking, and the link to research.
