W6 – 6G-empowered Robotic Vehicles for Sustainable Development (The Fourth VeSUS)

Co-organizer: Tao Zhang, Beijing Jiaotong University, China
Co-organizer: Zhenhui Yuan, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Co-organizer: Trung Q.Duong, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Co-organizer: Pei Xiao, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

Abstract: The VeSUS workshop aims to explore the role of 6G technology in advancing the support of robotic vehicles within the framework of sustainable development. It seeks to develop more sustainable, eco-friendly, and efficient methodologies for robotic vehicle sensing, computing, and communication. The workshop will delve into the various opportunities and challenges of deploying robotic vehicles in diverse scenarios, identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) that adhere to sustainable design principles. Furthermore, it will investigate innovative 6G solutions to address these challenges and meet the KPIs, enhancing the capabilities of robotic vehicles to operate in complex environments with greater reliability, agility, and energy efficiency. The workshop will cover a wide range of topics crucial to advancing the integration of 6G technology in robotic vehicles for sustainable development. These topics include use case studies highlighting sustainable development applications, and the deployment of 6G-empowered sensor networks for enhanced robotic vehicle performance. Key networking aspects will be explored, including architectures and communication protocols, as well as the application of machine learning and AI to improve robotic vehicle operations. The workshop will also delve into cloud, fog, and edge computing intelligence, along with advanced data gathering and aggregation methods. Coordination and communication in multi-robotic vehicle systems will be examined, focusing on self-organizing and self-healing mechanisms. Energy-efficient approaches in sensing, computing, and communication will be highlighted, alongside distributed control and collaborative frameworks. Biologically inspired communication systems and software-defined networks will be discussed, as well as critical aspects of path planning, navigation, and target tracking. Additionally, the workshop will address quality of service and experience, cybersecurity and privacy concerns, and will feature performance analysis and experimental demonstrations of robotic vehicles tailored for sustainable development.

Co-organizer’s Bios:

Tao Zhang:

Tao Zhang (Member, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in Internet of Things engineering from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) and the Queen Mary University of London in 2018, and the Ph.D. degree in computer science and technology from BUPT in 2023. He is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Cyberspace Science and Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University. His publications include ESI highly cited papers, ESI hot paper and well-archived international journals and proceedings, such as IEEE COMST, JSAC, TIFS, TDSC, TMC, TSC, TITS, TCCN and TII etc. His research interests include network security, moving target defense, and federated learning. He has served as the associate editor for IEEE Data Descriptions, Ad Hoc Networks, and EURASIP Journal on Information Security, and the TPC chair and a PC member for some international conferences and workshops. He was a recipient of the Best Paper Award from NaNA 2018, IWCMC 2021, DIONE 2024, ICA3PP 2024, and KSEM 2025, and a recipient of Outstanding Paper Award from iThings 2023, and SmartCity 2024. His Ph.D. thesis was awarded the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation by BUPT and China Institute of Communications.

Zhenhui Yuan:

Zhenhui Yuan (IEEE Senior Member) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick, UK. He received his BEng degree in Software Engineering at Wuhan University, China, in 2008 and PhD in Electronic Engineering at Dublin City University, Ireland, in 2012. He is primarily interested in the development of communication systems for robots and vehicles. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Ericsson and Enterprise Ireland and a visiting scholar at UCLA, U.S. He was also a 5G Senior Researcher at Huawei (Shanghai). He co-founded RobSense (Hangzhou) Technology Co.Ltd which provides industrial IoT solutions with robotics. He was an Associate Professor at Hangzhou Dianzi University, China, and a Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University, UK. He won the best paper awards at IEEE ICCRE 2016 and IEEE BMSB 2014. He served as a Lead Guest Editor in IEEE Network, IEEE IoT-Magazine, and IEEE Internet of Things Journal, and an Associate Editor at IEEE ACCESS, IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics and Journal of Pervasive Computing & Communications. He is a voting member of IEEE P1954 on UAV communications. He serves as a Consulting Member (Telerobotics in Healthcare) at the Institute for Applied & Translational Technologies in Surgery, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. He is the founding Chair of the VeSUS workshop (“6G-empowered Robotic Vehicles for Sustainable Development”) which has been successfully held in IEEE VTC 2023/2024 and IEEE ICC 2025.

Trung Q.Duong:

Trung Q.Duong (IEEE Fellow, AAIA Fellow) is a Canada Excellence Research Chair and a Full Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. His current research focuses on quantum machine learning, signal processing, real-time optimization, quantum optimization, 5G/6G wireless communications, Internet-of-Things (applied to healthcare, disaster management, energy,
agriculture, environment, and smart cities). He has established a strong record in these areas with 500+ publications (Google Scholar: 20,000+ citations, h-index of 76). He was the only UK-based
researcher to have received both prestigious awards from the Royal Academy of Engineering: i) the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship (2015–2020) and ii) Research Chair of Royal
Academy of Engineering (2020-2025). He has received $54+ million in research grants from Canada NSERC, EU Horizon, UK funding bodies (EPSRC, ESRC, Innovate UK, Royal Academy of
Engineering, Royal Society, DfE, British Council), international funding bodies, and industry. He has served as an Editor for major technical journals including IEEE Trans. on Wireless
Communications, IEEE Trans. on Communications, IEEE Trans. on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, and IEEE Communications Letters. He is currently the Editor-in-
Chief of IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials.

Pei Xiao:

Pei Xiao is a Professor in Wireless Communications in the Institute for Communication Systems (ICS) at University of Surrey (UK). He is currently the technical manager of 5GIC/6GIC, leading the
research team in the new physical layer work area, and coordinating/supervising research activities across all the work areas (https://www.surrey.ac.uk/institute-communication-systems/5g-6ginnovation- centre). Prior to this, he worked at Newcastle University and Queen’s University Belfast. He also held positions at Nokia Networks in Finland. He has published extensively in the fields of communication theory, RF and antenna design, signal processing for wireless communications, and is an inventor on over 15 recent patents addressing bottleneck problems in 5G/6G systems.

Paper submission deadline Extended: 8 February 2026
Acceptance notification: 18 March 2026
Final paper submission deadline Extended: 7 April 2026

Submission requirements: 5-page paper (without overlength charge) and up to 2 additional pages are allowed with the purchase of additional page charges in the amount of $100 USD per additional page at the time of registration and final paper submission.

Paper submission can be located here: https://vtc2026s-rr-wks.trackchair.com/