The Hub
The Hub is your central destination for all things CHEDDAR. Here, we bring together our latest campaigns, blogs, articles, white papers, and thought leadership in one place.
Stay up to date with cutting-edge insights from across the CHEDDAR network, explore the ideas shaping the future of distributed cloud computing and 6G technologies, and discover how our research is driving innovation and real-world impact.
Whether you’re a researcher, industry partner, policymaker, or curious reader, The Hub is designed to keep you informed, inspired, and connected.
Behind the research
A breakthrough in affordable, open-source mobile networks could help bring remote medical care closer to reality. Researchers at the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering have developed a low-cost 4G LTE mobile network that enables near-real-time control of a robotic arm using off-the-shelf hardware. The system allows precise, low-latency movement an essential requirement for delicate procedures such as remote surgery. In their latest study, published in Communications Engineering, the team demonstrated how the system can perform mock dental examinations, showcasing its potential for future medical applications. Built using the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) framework, the system relies on open-source software and a repurposed USB dongle [...]
23 Oct, 2025
Insights & Policy
As telecommunications evolve toward AI-native 6G systems, artificial intelligence will become deeply embedded within network infrastructures to deliver intelligent, seamless, and user-centric services. Yet, this integration also introduces complex trust and safety challenges. Future machine learning systems, powered by deep reinforcement learning (DRL), will manage diverse and dynamic datasets to enable autonomous decision-making across networks. This white paper explores the urgent need for explainable deep reinforcement learning (X-DRL) to ensure transparency, accountability, and reliability in next-generation networks. It identifies three critical challenges: stakeholder-specific explainability across providers, regulators, and end-users; the absence of long-term behavioural models for DRL agents; and the [...]
15 Oct, 2025
Insights & Policy
Following the release of the initial version last year [R1], we are now developing White Paper 2.0 — a comprehensive update that reflects the latest progress in 6G research. This revision comes ahead of the anticipated launch of the 6G study item by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in 2025. In preparation for this milestone, the white paper is being refined to align with the rapidly evolving landscape of 6G technologies, with a particular focus on near-field technology applications. The main objectives of this update are to strengthen research and standardisation efforts in near-field technologies, identify key scenarios and [...]
15 Oct, 2025
Insights & Policy
Powering the Future of Communications The Communications Hub for Empowering Distributed clouD computing Applications and Research (CHEDDAR)is driving the UK’s leadership in next-generation communications and distributed cloud technologies. Our 2024/25 Annual Report highlights a year of exceptional progress — from advances in AI-native networks, integrated sensing, and 6G system design to the expansion of our national research ecosystem, new partnerships, and real-world impact across healthcare, energy, and secure connectivity. Led by Imperial College London, with core partners at Cranfield, Durham, Glasgow, Leeds, and York, CHEDDAR unites 21 universities and numerous industry collaborators under one vision: to build communications systems that [...]
9 Oct, 2025
Behind the research
Dr Chenguang Liu is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Engineering, Durham University. He specialises in applied machine learning and robust wireless connected systems. His research focuses on AI for wireless and end-to-end design, semantic communication, multi-agent cooperative perception, and networked control systems. He has been awarded the Warwick–SUSTech Scholarship (2019-2023), SUSTech Research Star Award (2023), and his research in cooperative perception have won the Oracle Research UK Grant Award (2022). He has also served as TPC member for several major communication conferences, such as IEEE INFOCOM, ICCCN, and ICCC, and a reviewer for leading journals, such as [...]
8 Oct, 2025
