Wireless Communication Systems for Space and Drones (2026)

Welcome to Wireless Communication Systems for Space and Drones (2026)

Description: 
This PhD course provides an end-to-end view of wireless communication systems for space and drones—an NTN stack increasingly central to 6G, autonomy, and resilient connectivity—by blending essential theory with hands-on lab and field work so students can design, prototype, and evaluate space–air–ground links.
The course is organized in three parts:

1. Antennas for Space & UAVs—from fundamentals (impedance matching, Friis, gain, effective aperture at high frequencies) to mm-wave antennas and arrays (dipole/slot/patch/DR/ME, conformal and circularly polarized), massive-MIMO and beam-steering architectures, integration on drones and satellites (random orientation, user/body effects, multi-band), satellite antenna systems (deployable reflectors, reflectarrays, shared apertures, CubeSat constraints), and beamforming networks/lenses (Butler/Blass/Rotman, Luneburg) with practical trade-offs; 
2. UAV-based EM Measurements—planning and executing in-situ air-to-ground/OTA campaigns for large or immobile objects, calibration and synchronization, coverage/channel mapping, data processing, and safety/regulatory considerations to capture realistic environmental and operational effects; 
3. RF Circuits & Systems for Satellites—front-end architectures with emphasis on PA linearization via digital predistortion, RF fault diagnosis, signal recovery under interference/fading, and automatic modulation recognition. AI/ML methods are woven through all three parts for modeling, detection, and optimization. 

Teaching combines focused lectures, paper discussions, EM/VNA/spec-an and SDR labs, and a supervised UAV measurement exercise. Evaluation is project-based (small-team experimental/design study with a short paper-style report and reproducible code/data) plus an oral presentation and active lab/field participation.

Prerequisites: PhD (or advanced MSc) in EE/ECE/CS; basics in EM/antennas, RF/microwave (S-params, matching), and digital comms (modulation, link budgets); MATLAB or Python. Recommended: VNA/spec-an, SDR, and EM-solver exposure. RF/UAV safety briefing required; strength in RF/EM or comms can offset gaps.

Learning objectives: 
Perform end-to-end system design for space–air–ground links, including link budgets and justified waveform/PHY/MAC choices.

Design and evaluate antennas/arrays (incl. beamforming networks/lenses) under space/UAV constraints; validate via simulation and measurement.

Plan and execute UAV-based RF/EM measurement campaigns with calibration, regulatory compliance, and data processing to produce OTA/channel maps.

Architect and test satellite RF front-ends; implement DPD, modulation recognition, and signal recovery, applying AI/ML across the stack.

Organizer: Fengchun Zhang, Rocio Rodriguez Cano, Jan H. Mikkelsen, Ming Shen

Lecturers: Fengchun Zhang, Rocio Rodriguez Cano, Jan H. Mikkelsen, Ming Shen

ECTS: 3

Time: 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 May 2026

Place: Aalborg University

City: Aalborg

Maximal number of participants: 20

Deadline: 13 April 2025

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

We cannot ensure any seats before the deadline for enrolment, all participants will be informed after the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the start of the course.

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at phdcourses@adm.aau.dk When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.