MERITO

The project

MERITO – Monitoring of Energy in openRAN via Intelligent Transport and x/rApps Optimization is a researcher-mobility project in the area "ICT and Artificial Intelligence" of the Executive Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Italy and India, promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST) of the Government of India, with a central role for early-career scientists.

The project aims to enhance energy efficiency in Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) through intelligent transport mechanisms and dedicated applications (xApps and rApps) that monitor and dynamically optimise energy consumption without compromising the quality of service for end users. Key activities include advanced transport protocols, dynamic resource allocation strategies and applications that exploit real-time data and machine-learning algorithms, built on standardised interfaces and open-source frameworks to ensure scalability and integration with transport networks. Researcher exchanges between the two units, with long and short visits every year, enable hands-on collaboration and knowledge sharing: energy measurements and laboratory tools in L'Aquila, artificial intelligence for the control of O-RAN networks in Dharwad.

Our role

The Italian unit, at the DISIM of the University of L'Aquila, leads the development of the intelligent transport mechanisms, of the xApps for energy monitoring and optimisation, of the quality-of-service tools and of the standardisation and dissemination activities, providing the lab's O-RAN and optical testbed; the Indian unit develops the rApps and the AI/ML optimisations and supports simulation, validation and testing. The collaboration builds on a long joint history between the two groups, with 18 joint publications on softwarised converged access, integration of transport networks with O-RAN and energy efficiency of mobile networks and virtualised environments.

Facts

• Programme: Italy–India scientific and technological cooperation, "Exchange of Researchers" scheme, MAECI and DST India.
• Duration: three years, 2025 – 2027.
• Partners: University of L'Aquila (DISIM) and Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad (Indian principal investigator Prof. Koteswararao Kondepu).
• Italian principal investigator: Andrea Marotta; co-investigator Carlo Centofanti.