Challenge on “Future 6G NTN Systems”

With the ComSoc support – innovation project

This challenge will be hosted by the Sixth International Conference on Communications, Signal Processing, and their Applications (ICCSPA’24), which will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye, from July 8 to 11, 2024. The works will be presented in a co-located workshop.

The papers selected for the workshop will be published like all the other ICCSPA papers, and therefore, one full registration per paper is required to be included in the workshop.

The challenge is organized by the ComSoc Satellite and Space Communications Technical Committee (SSCTC).

Key Dates

Submission Deadline

June 14, 2024

Notification of Selection

June 27, 2024

Check more details on the participation rules

Submit your contribution via the EDAS portal

Organizing Team

Dr. Güneş Karabulut-Kurt

Polytechnique Montréal, Canada

Dr. Giovanni Giambene

Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy

Dr. Peng Hu

University of Manitoba, Canada

Aim

This challenge aims to push forward innovative ideas in the field of Satellite and Space communications, taking into account the recent trend and development of new satellite systems and space missions. The interest is to stimulate the participation of young researchers and PhD students in the competition. We aim to recruit new SSCTC members and encourage active participation from all interested young researchers. Interested authors can submit an IEEE conference-like paper covering one of the following topics:

  • Design and analysis of satellite mega-constellations
  • Novel use cases for satellite networks and integration with terrestrial networks
  • High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) systems and HAPS constellations
  • Integrated terrestrial-satellite networks, satellite–5G/6G coexistence
  • 3GPP 6G standardization with satellite communications as a native technology
  • Free Space Optical (FSO) communications for satellite networks, laser links
  • Satellite networks for enhanced localization, navigation, and precision positioning
  • Mobility/handover management in satellite networks
  • Quantum key distribution (QKD) in satellite networks
  • Satellite IoT
  • Computation offloading through/from satellite networks
  • Edge computing and caching in satellite networks
  • Topology management and routing in satellite networks
  • Random access techniques and dynamic spectrum sharing in satellite networks
  • Multicasting techniques in satellite networks
  • MIMO, massive MIMO, advanced antenna architectures, and dynamic beamforming
  • Interference avoidance and mitigation in satellite networks
  • Optical wireless communications for future satellite systems
  • Routing in 3D multi-orbit non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems
  • Physical layer security in satellite communications
  • Security, privacy, and authentical in satellite networks
  • Mobility enhancement for TN – NTN integration
  • Testbeds for satellite networks and experimental studies
  • AI/ML for satellite networks
  • Simulation platforms for satellite networks
  • IoT and M2M applications in satellite networks
  • Advanced physical layer technologies for satellite communications.

Rules to participate

The applicant must submit an innovative idea as a conference paper using the IEEE conference template. The required paper length is up to 5 pages, double-column (Times New Roman, 12-pt font size, and 20-pica column width), including references, tables, and figures of results. The submitted manuscript should not exceed 5000 words (including title, authors’ names/info, abstract, body (introduction to conclusion), figures, tables, captions, footnotes, acknowledgments, and references).

There is a limit of a maximum of one paper submission (entry) per person. The first author of each submitted paper should be a full-time graduate student at the time of submission or should have received their Ph.D. in 2021, 2022, or 2023. The age of the first authors should be from twenty (20) to thirty-five (35) years. Only papers submitted in accordance with these rules will be eligible for consideration.

The submission of the paper will be carried out via EDAS. This challenge will be hosted by ICCSPA’24, and the works will be presented in a co-located workshop organized on July 8, 2024, in Istanbul.

More details on the participation rules are provided here.

The authors of the best ten submissions will be invited to present their works in the final workshop (within ICCSPA in Istanbul Medipol University and also on Zoom) organized by the SSCTC. The registration policy of ICCSPA will be adhered to. The final workshop will also be available online (free for student participants) and will include: a welcome message from the SSCTC chair to participants, a quick survey on SSC activities, a keynote presentation by a valuable speaker of the SSC community, presentations of the best ideas, final vote of the TPC committee, and final ceremony with the prizes for the best ideas.

The five best ideas invited to participate in the workshop with a representative attending will get travel and registration reimbursement (*) according to the following max amounts:

● $2000 for the winner of the challenge
● $1400 for the second winner
● $1000 for the third winner
● $250 for the fourth and the fifth winners.

(*)The reimbursement funding can be used to cover the travel expenses of individuals, including the airfare, train, taxi, and hotel. The original receipts must be scanned or photographed by the travelers and then submitted for reimbursement.

For inquiries, please contact Dr. Güneş Karabulut-Kurt at gunes.kurt@polymtl.ca