Three application scenarios that guide and validate the research program.
Representative scenarios guide technical development and validate the O²-RAN architecture.
UAV-mounted base stations restore communications in areas affected by damaged or unavailable ground infrastructure.
CubeSat-class L/S-band radio payloads and regenerative NTN functions support a planned direct-to-cell validation pathway, building toward satellite links with user devices.
Coordinated UAVs distribute sensing and AI workloads across aerial, satellite and ground edge resources.
Investigates UAV-mounted RAN operation with limited and variable satellite backhaul, adaptive functional splits, first-responder traffic prioritization and predictive handover. Primarily exercised through the planned M23 hardware demonstration and M30 UAV field demonstration.
UC2 includes a CubeSat-class direct-to-cell demonstration pathway—not only generic satellite connectivity. The team is developing L/S-band satellite radio hardware, CubeSat payload interfaces, and onboard RU/DU/CU software integration, together with Doppler/timing compensation, predictive beamforming and direct links to user devices.
Validation progresses through laboratory, flat-sat and hardware-in-the-loop platforms alongside the M11, M18 and M23 NTN demonstrations. CubeSat flight or on-orbit experiments depend on hardware qualification and a confirmed launch opportunity.
Explores intelligent workload placement and migration among UAVs and MEC platforms, combining sensing, AI inference, and networking under resource limits. Validated through the planned M30 and M36 integrated demonstrations.