IEEE.orgIEEE Xplore Digital Library IEEE Standards IEEE SpectrumMore Sites
W22: Innovations in Advanced Air Mobility and Non-Terrestrial Networks - VTC2025-Spring Oslo

W22: Innovations in Advanced Air Mobility and Non-Terrestrial Networks

Co-Organizer: Evgenii Vinogradov, KU Leuven, Belgium; Technology Innovation Institute, UAE
Co-Organizer: Abdellah Chehri, Royal Military College of Canada
Co-Organizer: Aymen Fakhreddine, University of Klagenfurt, Austria
Co-Organizer: Gür Gürkan, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
Co-Organizer: Wael Jaafar, University of Quebec, Canada
Co-Organizer: Kamesh Namuduri, University of North Texas, USA
Co-Organizer: Mohammed Elamassie, Ozyegin University, Turkey
Co-Organizer: Keven Gambold, CEO of Unmanned Experts, USA

 

Abstract: The AAM-NTN workshop addresses pressing challenges in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). With cities like Seoul, Dubai, Milan, and Dallas-Fort Worth planning to launch commercial air taxi services by 2026, there’s an urgent need for innovative communication solutions for UAVs and electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. These solutions must ensure reliable data transmission, navigation, traffic management, and real-time interactions within increasingly congested airspaces. In addition to new platforms, advancements are emerging in vertiport design, software, sensors, and alternative energy solutions. Global community testbeds and frameworks, such as the Aerial Experimentation Research Platform for Advanced Wireless and U-Space, are enabling experimentation in advanced aerial mobility. The industry anticipates challenges in airspace operations, traffic management, vehicle health monitoring, and human-autonomy teaming. There’s a need for strategies in micro-weather modeling, collision avoidance, detection of uncooperative aircraft, and GPS-denied operations. Advances in communication, navigation, and surveillance are critical, including the exploration of 5G and 6G networks, satellite links, and radio frequency communication. Simultaneously, global efforts in 6G research are focusing on integrating NTNs—including UAVs, High Altitude Platforms (HAPs), and satellites—into terrestrial networks. NTNs aim to provide high-speed, reliable communication services and support AAM by enabling information sharing crucial for safety. Integrating these technologies poses challenges such as developing new network architectures, advanced communication methods, and ensuring security in dynamic aerial environments.

This half-day workshop will bring together researchers, industry professionals, and regulators to explore innovative solutions for the emerging urban air mobility ecosystem. it will explore a range of critical topics relevant to AAM and NTN technologies, including, but not limited to:

  1. Channel Modeling
  2. Network Architectures and Protocols
  3. Antenna Design and Multi-Antenna Techniques
  4. Utilizing millimeter-wave, THz, and optical communications
  5. Integrated Sensing and Communications
  6. Cyber and Physical-Layer Security
  7. Spectrum Management and Mobility Strategies
  8. Machine Learning and AI Applications
  9. Experimental Demos and Field Trials
  10. Standardization and Regulatory Frameworks
  11. Traffic Management
  12. Micro-weather Modeling
  13. Energy Management
  14. Collision Avoidance
  15. Counter-UAS Strategies
  16. Navigation in GPS-denied Environment

 

Co-Organizer’s Bios:

Evgenii Vinogradov:

Evgenii Vinogradov (Senior Member IEEE) is a Visiting Professor at KU Leuven, Belgium, and a Lead Researcher at the Technology Innovation Institute in UAE. He holds a Ph.D. in telecommunications engineering from UCLouvain, Belgium and an engineering degree from Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI” (ETU), Russia. His research interests center around wireless communication involving Advanced Air Mobility and 6G technologies such as Cell-Free MIMO and Non-Terrestrial Networks. Dr. Vinogradov has been actively engaged in several 6G and UAV-focused H2020 projects during his tenure at KU Leuven. With a strong professional background, Evgenii has held positions at Tele2 and VEON in Russia. He has authored/co-authored numerous publications (including a best session paper in 2023 IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference) and served as the chair of ACM MobiSys DroNet’19 and DCoSS Wi-DroIT’24, and as a TPC co-chair at workshops at IEEE Globecom and ICC. He is also an Associate Editor for IEEE OJVT and a member of the IEEE VTS Committee on Drones.

Abdellah Chehri:

Dr A. Chehri is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), Kingston, Ontario. Dr. Chehri completed his Ph.D. at University Laval (Quebec) and his Master’s studies at University Nice Sophia Antipolis-Eurecom (France). Dr. Chehri is a co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications in established journals and conference proceedings sponsored by established publishers such as IEEE, ACM, Elsevier, and Springer. Dr. Chehri has served on roughly thirty conference and workshop program committees. In addition, he served as guest/associate editor for several well-reputed journals. Additionally, he is a Senior Member of IEEE, a member of the IEEE Communication Society, IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS), and IEEE Photonics Society.

Aymen Fakhreddine:

Aymen Fakhreddine (Member IEEE) is a Principal Investigator at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria, supported by the ESPRIT grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). He received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in telematic engineering from the University Carlos III Madrid in Spain, an M.Sc. degree in advanced wireless communication systems from CentraleSupélec, France, and an engineering degree in telecommunications from INPT Rabat, Morocco. His research interests include wireless communications, networking, and localization. Dr. Fakhreddine has previously worked at Lakeside Labs, Austria; IMDEA Networks Institute, Spain, and as a visiting researcher at Singapore University of Technology and Design, and a research intern at Nokia Bell Labs in France. He has authored/co-authored numerous publications and served as the chair of ACM MobiSys DroNet 2024 and TPC co-chair at workshops at IEEE Globecom and ICC. Dr. Fakhreddine received the Best Paper Award at ACM DroNet 2021.

Gür Gürkan:

Gürkan Gür is a senior lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, 8401, Switzerland. Gur received his Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey. He is senior member of the IEEE.

Wael Jaafar:

Wael Jaafar (Senior Member IEEE) is an Associate Professor at the Software and IT Engineering Department of École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS), University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada. He holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Polytechnique Montreal, Canada. His research interests include wireless communications, integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, resource allocation, edge caching and computing, and machine learning for communication and networks. Dr. Jaafar has been a visiting researcher at Khalifa University (UAE), Keio University (Japan), and UQAM (Canada). He has received several prestigious grants, including the NSERC Alexander-Graham Bell scholarship and the Fonds de recherche du Québec–Nature et technologies (FRQNT) scholarship. He also received Best Paper Awards at IEEE ICC 2021 and ISCC 2023. With a strong professional background, Wael has held positions in the telecommunications industry, designing telecommunication solutions for projects in Canada and abroad. He has authored/co-authored numerous publications in reputable journals and conferences.

Kamesh Namuduri:

Kamesh Namuduri is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and the director of Autonomous Systems Laboratory at the University of North Texas (UNT). He received his B.S. degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Osmania University, India, in 1984, M.S. degree in Computer Science from University of Hyderabad in 1986, and Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from University of South Florida in 1992. Over the past eleven years, his research is focused on aerial networking and communications. He co-organized a series of workshops on “Airborne Networking and Communications” in conjunction with IEEE, AIAA, AUVSI, and ACM Conferences. He is serving as the chair for two Standards Working Groups (IEEE 1920.1: Aerial Communications and Networking and IEEE P1920.2: Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications for Unmanned Aircraft Systems). He is serving as the Chair for the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society’s Ad Hoc Committee on Drones. He is a co-editor for the book titled “UAV Networks and Communications” published by the Cambridge University Press in 2017. He is leading the Smart and Connected Community project on “Deployable Communication Systems” in collaboration with the government, public, and private organizations. This living laboratory project was demonstrated thrice during the Global City Teams Challenge hosted jointly by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and US Ignite in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. He contributed to the development of research agenda, requirements and blueprints highly deployable communications systems led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Public Safety Telecommunications Council.

Mohammed Elamassie:

Mohammed Elamassie (Senior Member IEEE, Senior Member Optica) is an Assistant Professor at Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey, and the Executive Co-Director of both the Center of Excellence in Optical Wireless Communication Technologies (OKATEM) and the Communication Theory and Technologies (CT&T) research group. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical and electronics engineering from Ozyegin University in 2020. Dr. Elamassie’s research focuses on wireless communications, including HAPS/ UAV-based optical wireless communication, atmospheric attenuation models, free-space optical communication, and visible light communications (indoor, outdoor, and underwater). He has authored over 70 publications, with 1400+ Google Scholar citations and an H-index of 20. Dr. Elamassie serves as an Optica Travelling Lecturer, and has held editorial positions, including Editor for IEEE Transactions on Communications (TCOM) and Regional Editor for the journal “Comm&Optics Connect.”. Dr. Elamassie has received several awards, including the Best Paper Award at the IEEE BlackSeaCom in 2019 and the 2020 IEEE Turkey Doctoral Dissertation Award. Additionally, he was ranked among the Top 2% of Scientists Globally by Scopus in 2023, based on the composite C-score indicator, which accounts for citations, h-index, co-authorship, and authorship positions (published on September 16, 2024).

Keven Gambold:

Keven Gambold completed 21 years of active duty service with the Royal Air Force as a front-line combat pilot, logging 1,500 hours in Tornado GR4 fast-jets, and another 1,500 hours of unmanned combat missions and two deployments to Iraq. In his subsequent role as Director of the Technical Aviation and Safety Committee for the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (North America), Gambold published peer-reviewed papers on drone operations in the civil sector. He has chaired several conferences and workshops on uncrewed air vehicles and has written and broadcast webinars, contributed to books, and created and taught several international training courses. He holds a Masters in Aeronautical Operations and a Commercial Pilots License, and is the co-founder and CEO of Unmanned Experts Inc.

To submit a paper, please visit: https://vtc2025s-rr-wks.trackchair.com/track/2379