As drones, air taxis and emergency aircraft begin to fill city skies, the biggest challenge may be invisible: how radio signals move through dense urban environments.

That future depends on reliable communication systems that can function reliably amid buildings, materials and interference, a problem UCF postdoctoral researcher Saumya Gupta is working to solve.

“Collaborating with NASA through the MUREP MPLAN program provides an opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research that supports the future of aviation and air mobility.” — Saumya Gupta, postdoctoral researcher

Gupta received a NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Partnership Learning Annual Notification (MPLAN) award to study and model how radio signals behavior in complex urban environments. She is working with co-principal investigator , an associate professor in UCF’s , on a project titled “A Digital Twin for AAM Communication Channels.”

Gupta’s research focuses on urban air mobility, where drones, emergency response aircraft and potential air taxis depend on reliable communication networks to operate safely in dense cities. The work builds on a growing body of AAM research at UCF, including prior simulation efforts led by Professor Vela, by focusing specifically on how communication signals move through crowded cities.

“Collaborating with NASA through the MUREP MPLAN program provides an opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research that supports the future of aviation and air mobility,” Gupta says. “It allows our team at UCF to work on problems that are directly relevant to NASA’s AAM (advanced air mobility) mission while also benefitting from guidance and collaboration with NASA researchers. This partnership helps ensure that our research addresses real-world challenges in integrating new air vehicles into the national airspace.”

Building the Digital Twin

Traditional radio frequency prediction models often rely on simplified formulas that estimate how signals weaken over distance. While useful, these models lack the spatial and material detail needed to represent dense urban environments where glass, steel and concrete significantly affect signal behavior.

More advanced simulation tools can model signal reflection, absorption and diffraction using digital maps. Most maps include building shapes but not detailed material data, a factor that strongly influences how signals are transmitted.

To address this limitation, Dr.Gupta and Professor Vela, along with their research team, are developing a simulation-based digital twin, a virtual model of an urban communication environment that incorporates artificial intelligence to improve prediction accuracy.

“Reliable communication is essential for future systems such as drones, emergency response UAVs and urban air taxis.” — Saumya Gupta, postdoctoral researcher

Rather than relying solely on static maps, the system trains neural networks using signal data collected by uncrewed aerial vehicles. By analyzing how signal strength changes across locations, the system can infer building material properties and refine the model accordingly. Over time, this approach allows the digital twin to become more adaptive and better aligned with real-world conditions.

“Reliable communication is essential for future systems such as drones, emergency response UAVs and urban air taxis,” Gupta says. “By using a digital twin to model how buildings and materials affect radio frequency signals, this research helps identify where signals may weaken, become blocked or experience interference. These insights can guide safer routing, real-time coordination and the scalable airspace management that future urban air mobility will depend on.”

Strengthening Industry-Academic Partnerships

NASA’s MUREP program aims to broaden participation in aerospace research while strengthening partnerships between universities and NASA centers.

Through the MPLAN initiative, faculty researchers work directly with NASA scientists to develop technologies aligned with the agency’s long-term missions while also expanding opportunities for students to engage in aerospace research.

“We plan to expand student involvement as the project progresses,” Gupta says. “We also look forward to engaging with NASA researchers to provide mentorship and collaborative learning opportunities.”

In addition to Gupta’s project, UCF researcher Justin Urso also received a MUREP MPLAN award supporting research on communication and sensing systems for advanced air mobility, further reflecting UCF’s role in NASA’s urban initiatives. Urso is a research assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who conducts work in Professor Subith Vasu’s laboratory.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through the Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Partnership Learning Annual Notification (MPLAN) program. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA. 

A total of 18 projects received Phase I funding across 15 universities. UCF received the most awards, with all three housed within the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Dean Michael Georgiopoulos says this speaks to the quality of research produced by CECS faculty.

“I’m proud to see that three of our research teams have been recognized by NASA for their innovative ideas that can shape the future of air travel and space flight,” Georgiopoulos says. “Our college has built a rich history with NASA and this award further solidifies the partnership between our respective researchers.”

All Phase I award recipients will be eligible to compete for Phase II funding and University Leadership Initiatives and Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grants. Learn more about the projects below.

Project Title: Multimodal Wireless Piezoelectric Microsensors

Award Amount: $50,000

Researchers: Reza Abdolvand and Hakhamanesh Mansoorzare ’21PhD

The third time was the charm for the Artemis I launch. After two unsuccessful launch attempts due to dangerously high engine temperatures, a crack in the fuel tank insulation and multiple fuel leaks, the rocket finally soared into orbit off the Space Coast.

To prevent these issues from delaying future Artemis missions or other NASA space explorations, a team ɫ���� researchers is developing a wireless multimodal sensor module that can monitor conditions such as temperature, pressure, acceleration and airflow in real time.

The module, less than a cubic centimeter, will include multiple microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonators that will measure those conditions. MEMS resonators are often used for motion sensing, time referencing and signal filtering in electronic devices but show promise in the aerospace engineering field due to their light weight, highly accurate readouts and cost-effective manufacturing.

Although the sensors will be roughly the size of a pencil eraser, they will be able to withstand extreme temperatures since there is no battery or electronics in the device. This will be the first wireless multimodal sensor of its kind.

“Piezoelectric MEMS resonators can detect change in environmental parameters without the need for any auxiliary power source such as battery as they could be powered wirelessly by a remote transceiver unit,” says Reza Abdolvand, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “This will create a unique opportunity for development of compact and battery-less sensing units that could withstand a harsh environment.”

Once manufactured, the sensing system can be used across various NASA missions to detect dangerous temperatures in critical spacecraft components, monitor the pressure in fuel tanks to prevent leaks, measure the temperature and pressure of lunar regolith, and assess the climate conditions for takeoff.

Project Title: SUPERSAF-SAF for Low Emission Supersonic Transport

Award Amount: $50,000

Researchers: Subith Vasu, Justin Urso, Ramees Khaleel Rahman, Gihun Kim

Supersonic commercial aircraft may be able to fly faster than the speed of sound and reduce the time for transatlantic journeys considerably, but their ultra-fast flights powered by fossil fuels could have a harmful effect on the environment. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Subith Vasu and his team of postdoctoral scholars aim to protect the environment by studying the emissions of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), a greener alternative made from sustainable resources such as wood residues, fatty acids, fermented sugars and processed alcohols.

Several government agencies have started to test these fuels for emissions.

The team in the Vasu Lab will conduct shock tube experiments to test the NOx and soot emissions of several different SAFs. That data will be used to improve the aviation industry’s and NASA’s current chemical kinetic models that can predict the soot and NOx output of various SAFs in flight conditions.

“The data we collect could significantly improve the current chemical kinetic model and advance the production of combustors for supersonic flights,” Vasu says.

The research is timely, given NASA recently awarded contracts to both Boeing and Northrop Grumman to develop technology roadmaps and concept vehicles for supersonic aircraft. Vasu plans to work with industry partners on this research and to seek additional funding from NASA beyond the MPLAN grant.

Project Title: A CNS Digital Twin Framework for AAM

Award Amount: $50,000

Researcher: Adan Vela

Airplanes and helicopters are often spotted in the sky, but in the future, cargo-loaded drones and passenger-carrying air taxis might become a common sight. Through NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) mission, the organization aims to create a safe and accessible aerial transportation system that can send cargo or people to hard-to-reach areas or even tourist destinations.

However, before AAM can take flight, engineers must address fundamental challenges of the communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) system that supports control, command and collision of these vehicles, as they could face challenges from the low altitude at which they fly or the lack of a human pilot. Buildings or terrain could distort or delay important CNS signals such as GPS or 5G.

To better understand this problem, Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Assistant Professor Adan Vela will develop the CNS-AAM simulation engine, a digital twin framework that mimics the CNS system that the AAM would require. With the aid of computer science students, Vela will create the simulation engine in Python. The resulting framework will allow NASA, the FAA and researchers around the world to digitally develop and test new artificial intelligence algorithms that manage aircraft and CNS technologies, including cybersecurity measures that could protect UAVs from malicious attacks.

If you’re an engineering student interested in working on this project, contact Associate Professor Adan Vela at adan.vela@ucf.edu.

In a pre-COVID world, UCF’s main campus is typically flooded during the course of a weekend with thousands of students lugging bedding, appliances, shower caddies and wall décor to their rooms at each of the eight housing communities.

But just like everything else in 2020, the pandemic changed the rules, and move-in for 6,000 students required a complex drive-thru process centralized in parking garages designed to maximize physical distancing.

Chick-fil-A Connection

When April Konvalinka, executive director of housing and residence life at UCF, realized this year’s move-in would need to be especially creative, she looked to a friend — Chick-fil-A franchise owner and operator Jason Barnes — for some guidance. He is a member of the fast food chain’s innovation team, which focuses on operating high-volume drive-thrus efficiently.

His advice helped shape some of the initiatives UCF implemented. Key among those was identifying the number of stations to help keep traffic moving, ensuring each worker had no more than two responsibilities at each station and a complete dry-run to test the process.

It was a starting point, but Konvalinka knew she was going to need more help in creating the detailed new protocols. So she turned to UCF’s IT project management office, a team that provides management and business analysis services across the university.

Konvalinka’s request for help turned into an ultra-collaborative effort spanning 10 departments and more than 80 people over the course of three weeks to revolutionize move-in at UCF.

Team Effort

Lucrecia Krause, a business analysis manager for UCF IT who served as the project manager for the move-in, started compiling data to get a better understanding of what checking in 6,000 students on the main campus over the span of 16 days would look like.

Her initial projections estimated wait times up to six hours for a single student to complete check in.

“We always strive to provide the best experience for our students, and this wasn’t it,” Krause says.

Additionally, she knew she needed to resolve numerous unanswered questions: How many lanes should receive cars? How many staff were needed? How many PCs and iPads should be on hand to check in residents? What happens if someone arrives in a moving van, which doesn’t fit in a parking garage? What way should traffic flow to prevent backups?

In order to address the issues and find ways to reduce wait times, Krause needed to get her hands on simulation software. After asking around the university, she connected with Assistant Professor Adan Vela, who teaches industrial engineering.

“This is sort of the bread and butter for our major,” Vela says. “As engineers, when we perform a simulation analysis, it’s usually to provide guidance, confirm feasibility and caution for potential pitfalls. Simulation analysis is a tool within the decision-making process, and we knew this was going to be a big endeavor, so we were more than happy to jump on board.”

Engineering Students Pitch In

Vela offered five of his students – doctoral students Valeria Laynes Fiascunari ’16 ’19MS and Jorge Flavio Sarmiento Falla ’16 ’18MS and undergraduate students Miguel Angel Victoria, Sebastian Berdecia-Aparicio and Elsayed Gabara — to help with the project by running simulation scenarios.

Laynes says at first she thought it seemed like a fairly straight forward process to iron out, but once she and the team started learning of the many constraints from the numerous departments involved, it became complicated quickly.

The team used a software called Simio, which industrial engineering students are exposed to in their classes at UCF. Laynes says everything she learned in her simulation courses prepared her for this job.

Using Simio, they were able to account for numerous details that affected the speed of the experience.

For example, each resident initially was going to be slotted a two-hour check-in window. But research shows when you allow a two-hour time block, people generally arrive within the first 30 minutes, creating surges of traffic. By narrowing the window to 15 minutes for each resident, the team demonstrated how spreading out the appointments would help prevent the surges and backups.

Solving Real World Problems

The team presented regularly to key stakeholders, including members ɫ����’s police, parking, student health services and housing departments.

The group left each meeting with feedback to compute in order to present updated projections again the next day. The students, who were also juggling classes or teaching assistant responsibilities, met sometimes until 1 or 2 a.m. to complete the work but everyone felt it was worth the sleep deprivation.

“Having a real client, especially one as big as UCF with a lot of stakeholders in a lot of different departments, is a really rich experience that any industrial engineering needs on their resume,” says Laynes, who worked for IBM for three years in between her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. “This project is as close as it gets to reality because this is a real-world job. We’re really grateful for this experience.”

For Krause, who spent hours collaborating with the team to review, adjust and then re-adjust models, she was confident everything would go according to plan on the first weekend of move-in appointments.

“This whole experience has shown that when we all come to together to achieve a task of this magnitude, amazing things can happen.”

She and members of the planning team observed nearly 900 students arrive over a two-day period in anticipation of the new semester. The time to check in, which included a COVID testing in one garage and Housing check-in another garage, averaged under 30 minutes total, with some families going through the entire process — including travel between the garages — in an impressive 18 minutes.

A post check-in survey after the first weekend conducted by Housing and Residence Life confirmed student and family satisfaction with the new process. Of the 75 Knights who responded to the survey, nearly all (97.3 percent) were satisfied with their move-in experience and, of those who experienced move-in at another campus, 84.6 percent indicated their UCF experience was better.

“We have incredibly talented and dedicated staff at UCF, who are all willing to do their part to support the health and well-being of our staff, students and their families,” Konvalinka says. “This whole experience has shown that when we all come to together to achieve a task of this magnitude, amazing things can happen.”