T2 – AI-Native Networked UAV Systems: Platforms, Integration, and Experiments

Co-presenter: Zhangyu Guan, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, USA
Co-presenter: Nicholas Mastronarde, University at Buffalo, USA
Co-presenter: Josh (Zhaoxi) Zhang, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, USA
Co-presenter: Maxwell McManus, University at Buffalo, USA

Abstract: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are rapidly becoming an important platform for next generation wireless networks, enabling applications such as aerial sensing, emergency communications, infrastructure inspection, and autonomous transportation. While significant research has been conducted on UAV communication theory and algorithms, many researchers and practitioners face practical challenges when building and operating real UAV communication systems. These challenges include platform integration, radio system design, networking architectures, spectrum management, and experimental validation.

This tutorial focuses on the practical design and deployment of AI-native UAV communication networks, highlighting system architecture, hardware–software integration, and experimental methodologies for building real aerial networking platforms. Participants will learn how modern UAV platforms can be integrated with programmable radios, onboard computing, and AI frameworks to enable adaptive communication, autonomous networking, and intelligent spectrum usage.

The tutorial will present practical design workflows, including UAV platform architecture, communication payload integration, software-defined radio deployment, and real-time networking stacks. It will also discuss how experimental platforms and testbeds can be used to evaluate aerial communication systems in realistic environments.

Through real-world examples and lessons learned from experimental UAV networking platforms, this tutorial aims to provide attendees with practical guidance on designing, implementing, and evaluating UAV communication systems. A live demonstration of a UAV communication platform and associated software tools will also be included to illustrate key concepts and provide attendees with a concrete view of system integration and operation in practice.

Co-presenter’s Bios:

Zhangyu Guan:

Dr. Guan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, starting in August 2025. Prior to this, he served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo. He received his Ph.D. in Communication and Information Systems from Shandong University, China, in 2010. From 2009 to 2010, he was a visiting Ph.D. student at the University at Buffalo, where he later worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate from 2012 to 2015. Between 2015 and 2018, he was an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston. He is the Director of the Wireless Intelligent Networking and Security (WINGS) Lab. His research interests include zero-touch computing and networking, space–air–ground integrated networking, wireless network security, and software and testbed infrastructure for future networks.

Nicholas Mastronarde:

Nick Mastronarde is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2011 and his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Davis in 2005 (Highest Honors, Department Citation) and 2006, respectively. He has been the recipient of several awards and honors including a first year department fellowship through the Electrical Engineering department at UCLA, the Dissertation Year Fellowship through the Graduate Division at UCLA, the Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation Award for 2011, the 2020 SEAS Senior Teacher of the Year Award, and UB’s Teaching Innovation Award 2022.

He has spent four summers (2013, 2015, 2016, 2018) as a faculty fellow at the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Information Directorate in Rome, NY. In the summer of 2010, he was a graduate intern at IBM Research Watson Lab in the Exploratory Stream Analytics group where he developed learning algorithms for discovering anomalies in massive volumes of streaming data. In the summer of 2007, he was a graduate student intern at Intel Corporation in the Graphics Architecture Team where he developed and patented an algorithm enabling the selective use of fractional and bidirectional video motion estimation in an H.264/AVC encoder.

Prof. Mastronarde’s research interests are in the areas of resource allocation and scheduling in wireless networks and systems, UAV networks, 5G and beyond networks, cross-layer design and optimization, Markov decision processes (MDPs), and reinforcement learning.

Josh (Zhaoxi) Zhang:

Josh (Zhaoxi) Zhang is a Ph.D. Research Assistant in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He received his M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University at Buffalo, SUNY. His research interests include wireless communications, UAV networks, programmable wireless systems, and AI-enabled networking. He is a member of the Wireless Intelligent Networking and Security (WINGS) Lab.

Maxwell McManus:

Dr. McManus is a Senior Research Engineer at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. He attended City Honors High School, where he graduated with an Advanced Regents Diploma with Honors, received the Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar Award, and earned the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. He then enrolled in the University at Buffalo (UB) Honors College as a Presidential Scholar. During his undergraduate studies, he also studied abroad at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, where he focused on telecommunications. He graduated from the University at Buffalo in 2019 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, and later received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 2021. In 2022, he was awarded the Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo in 2025. His current research interests include wireless network security, digital twin technologies, and spectrum sharing.