A Survey of Computational Intelligence for 6G: Key Technologies, Applications and Trends

The ongoing deployment of 5G network involves the Internet of Things (IoT) as a new technology for the development of mobile communication, where the Internet of Everything (IoE) as the expansion of IoT has catalyzed the explosion of data and can trigger new eras. However, the fundamental and key component of the IoE depends on the computational intelligence (CI), which may be utilized in the sixth generation mobile communication system (6G). The motivation of this article presents the 6G enabled network in box (NIB) architecture as a powerful integrated solution that can support comprehensive network management and operations. The 6G enabled NIB can be used as an alternative method to meet the needs of next-generation mobile networks by dynamically reconfiguring the deployment of network functions, providing a high degree of flexibility for connection services in various situations. Especially the CI technology such as evolutionary computing, neural computing and fuzzy systems utilized as a part of NIB have inherent capabilities to handle various uncertainties, which have unique advantages in processing the variability and diversity of large amounts of data. Finally, CI technology for NIB, which is widely used is also introduced such as distributed computing, fog computing, and mobile edge computing in order to achieve different levels of sustainable computing infrastructure. This article discusses the key technologies, advantages, industrial scenario applications of CI technology as NIB, typical use cases and development trends based on IoE, which provides directional guidance for the development of CI technology as NIB for 6G.