The IEEE 1906.1 Standard: Nanocommunications as a new source of data

Nanoscale communications is a new paradigm encompassing all those concerns related to the exchange of information among devices at the nanometer scale. A network infrastructure consisting of a huge amount of nano-devices is envisaged to ensure robust, reliable and coordinated data transmission. This will enable a plethora of forthcoming applications and services in many different research fields, such as personalized medicine, synthetic biology, environmental science or industry, which will lead to outstanding and unprecedented advances. The IEEE P1906.1 standard provides a conceptual and general framework to set the starting point for future developments in nanoscale communication networks. This paper reviews the latest IEEE P1906.1 recommendations, observing their main features when applied to the electromagnetic (EM) nanocommunication area. We contribute by identifying and discussing the principal shortcomings of the standard, to which further research efforts must be devoted. We also provide interesting guidelines for focusing the object of future investigations.