At this year’s World AI Conference in Shanghai, Gordon Zhang, InterDigital’s Senior Director for wireless research, shared a compelling vision for the future of intelligent connectivity, spotlighting the convergence of two transformative technologies: AI and 6G.
As global demand accelerates for smarter networks, immersive media, and real-time automation, AI and 6G are poised to redefine how we connect, compute, and create across every sector. More than just a technological pairing, the dual evolution of AI and 6G marks the dawn of a new era where networks will sense, adapt, and act with intelligence to enable the next wave of innovation for industry and beyond.
At InterDigital, innovation is our legacy and our future. With more than five decades at the forefront of wireless and video technologies, InterDigital is uniquely positioned to help shape the potential for AI-native networks.
6G is expected to be the first AI-native mobile generation, built from the ground up with AI woven within its fabric to enable networks to self-optimize, deliver intelligent services, and unlock transformative use cases across the network core.
The ITU’s IMT-2030 vision outlines a future of ultra-low latency, massive connectivity, and immersive digital experiences, and introduces capabilities like Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), ubiquitous connectivity, and AI-integrated network intelligence. To achieve this, the global standards community is actively defining system architecture that supports this vision. InterDigital holds critical leadership positions in 3GPP RAN2 and SA6 to guide the development of standards, inclusive of scalable AI capabilities from the device to the edge and core.
Unlocking 6G and AI for Industry: Use Cases
Integrated Sensing for Industry 4.0
In our intelligent future, wireless signals will both communicate and sense. InterDigital’s AI-enhanced ISAC technology uses 3GPP-compliant signals to detect motion, presence, and even micro-gestures, turning the entire network into a scalable radar system. At MWC 2025, InterDigital showcased this capability through real-time human activity detection powered by a digital twin – offering non-intrusive, intelligent sensing for predictive operations and enhanced industrial automation.
Autonomous Vehicles and Intelligent Mobility
Autonomous vehicles, from drones to delivery robots and intelligent cars, depend on the fusion of sensory data for real-time decision-making. AI-native 6G will dramatically enhance Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication, fusing LiDAR, radar, and visual inputs to create responsive, human-like autonomy. Whether enabling smart rerouting or emergency braking in milliseconds, the AI-6G partnership paves the way for safer roads, smarter cities, and more efficient logistics.
AI-Enhanced Video for XR and Immersive Media
With video already accounting for over 70% of internet traffic, and shipments of XR devices set to quadruple by 2031, the need for intelligent media delivery is more urgent than ever. AI-enhanced video codecs will reduce bitrates, adjust to network conditions, and support diverse environments – ensuring seamless experiences across XR, AR, and metaverse applications. InterDigital’s contributions to technologies like Feature Coding for Machines and Split Squeeze Computing offer potential to enable machines to extract and transmit only essential data, optimizing both performance and power.
Agentic AI on Mobile Devices
6G marks a shift from download-heavy paradigms to uplink-intensive applications like XR, livestreaming, and real-time collaboration. Here, agentic AI becomes critical. By placing intelligent agents directly on mobile devices, users benefit from personalized, context-aware services that protect privacy and preserve resources. InterDigital’s work in semantic communication and adaptive AI codecs, alongside strategies like Split Squeeze Computing, will ensure efficient processing across device and edge – saving bandwidth and battery, while maximizing user experience.
The convergence of AI and 6G opens a world of new potential. From predictive maintenance in manufacturing, to real-time safety systems in transportation, to seamless immersive collaboration across geographies, this fusion will power the next industrial transformation.
This new paradigm demands deep collaboration across research institutions, industry leaders, and standards bodies. InterDigital is proud to help lead this transformation, driving the innovation that will empower scalable, secure, and intelligent connectivity across every sector of the global economy.