Research Grants (Funded projects)

I serve(d) as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator in the following research grants:

International & EU projects

  • EURO-3C
    2026 - 2029 ---- EUROpean 3C Networks for Secure Telco-Cloud-Edge (EURO-3C) Funding body: Horizon Europe - European Commission. 74 999 880.00 EUR - 1 049 450.00 EUR (IMEC). Members: 87 European institutions (Industry and Research). EURO-3C realizes the European Connected Collaborative Computing Networks (3CN) vision by establishing the first large-scale, federated, open, and sovereign Pan-European pilot infrastructure for converged Telco-Edge-Cloud services. The EURO-3C project will address the under-served needs and demands of key EU vertical sectors for secure, sovereign, high-performance and competitive 3CN services, by leveraging large-scale ubiquitous and production-grade infrastructures, developing a new sustainable, federated, and open ecosystem for Telco-Edge-Cloud services, establishing strategic industrial cooperation with key Vertical sectors, and researching and innovating in sovereign technologies and services. EURO-3C will provide a multi-vendor, multi-domain pilot infrastructure built upon six research and innovation pillars: Telco-Cloud Convergence, Multi-level Federation, Interoperable XaaS Services, AI-enabled Orchestration, Security by Design/Zero Trust, and Business Sustainability, for evolving more than 70 production edge nodes across more than 13 countries and 15 providers towards the delivery of high added value interoperable telco-edge-cloud services while unlocking new economies of scale for all players involved. The EURO-3C value proposition will be validated through 9 business relevant use cases in key sectors like Automotive, Transport, Energy, and PPDR. EURO-3C brings together 87 leading Telcos, Vendors, Cloud providers, industry end-users, SMEs, AI and Security specialists and RTOs, to co-develop and validate an innovative, open and standards-based solution. The project will advance key standards and open frameworks, including 3GPP, ETSI, GSMA Operator Platform, as well as open source communities such as Sylva, Nephio, Anuket, CAMARA and ETSI SDGs. EURO-3C is aligned with flagship EU initiatives, such as IPCEICIS/MECT, the SNS JU Streams, EuroHPC/AI Factories, and the Open Internet Stack, to ensure technology, policy and market convergence.
  • GENIUS
    2026 - 2029 ---- 6G connEcted eNvironments for logIstics and mUltimodal tranSportation (GENIUS) Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 5 996 298.75 EUR- 850 148.75 (IMEC). Members: 15 European institutions (Research and Industry). The impact of successive generations of mobile networks in industry has always been strong on the Transport and Logistics (T&L) sector, as it emerges naturally as one of the areas where transformation runs deeper, and efficiency and security gains have been increasing since it was first possible to make a phone call on the move. Still, it is also a sector where all kinds of mobility challenges keep bringing requirements for new functionalities and services to enable automated transportation and logistics. With 5G, many issues were addressed. Besides increased bandwidth, reduced latency, and higher connection densities, the expansion of the ever-increasing processing capacity towards the Edge of the network and the support to non-public networks are examples of features of major importance to the automation of the T&L sector. Meanwhile, as 6G standardization progresses, the promise of even more bandwidth, less latency, higher density, or NTN integration, will bring new opportunities towards better efficiency and automation, and will enable new and better services. GENIUS will integrate logistics, multimodal transport and automation within the 6G ecosystem to deliver transformative benefits across efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of supply chains. Ultra-reliable low-latency communications will enable continuous monitoring and synchronization of goods across heterogeneous transport modes, supporting seamless coordination at hubs such as in a crowded city, ports and airports. Leveraging 6G-enabled digital twins and AI-driven optimization, multimodal networks will dynamically adapt to disruptions, optimize mode-shifting decisions, and reduce both operational costs and carbon emissions in line with European Green Deal objectives. These capabilities will strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in logistics while enhancing competitiveness and resilience in global supply chains.
  • OPTIMUS-6G
    2026 - 2029 ---- Optimized 6G-enabled IoT networks for unlicensed operations in the computing continuum (OPTIMUS-6G) Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 3 197 300.00 - 370 800.00 (IMEC). Members: 8 European institutions (Research and Industry). OPTIMUS-6G will develop a multi-domain network architectural framework that enhances multi-functional communication for IoT devices and applications in 6G unlicensed bands, addressing future use cases and optimising their performance. This will be achieved through the design of novel multi-band and multi-RAT models that optimize the operation of heterogeneous IoT devices across unlicensed 6G bands (6G-U), spanning multiple communication technologies (radio, optical) and domains (IoT, edge, cloud), as well as the development of an advanced digital twin (DT)-enabled framework to calibrate these models and test them on tangible use cases. To enable seamless integration of the OPTIMUS-6G architecture into the 6G-IoT ecosystem, the project will leverage multi-band communication by implementing cutting-edge technologies in both radio and optical bands to ensure reliable, high-bandwidth, and low-latency connectivity. It will also introduce hardware-agnostic, cross-layer protocols to optimize communications and data processing across heterogeneous IoT devices along the computing continuum. Furthermore, OPTIMUS-6G will enhance resource and data orchestration for network and application optimization by applying advanced AI-enabled mechanisms. The DT-enabled framework will be central to testing and evaluation, ensuring its seamless integration into the 6G-IoT framework. Finally, the deployed architecture will be validated and assessed across three use cases, focusing on unlicensed IoT operations to support long-term unattended deployments in manufacturing, healthcare, and campus networks.
  • QUEST 6G
    2026 - 2029 ---- Integrating Quantum AI and Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems in 6G Networks (QUEST 6G) Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 7 407 074.51 EUR - 756 355.00 (IMEC). Members: 14 European institutions (Research and Industry). 6G will transform wireless communications by delivering extreme data rates, ultra-low latency, and seamless connectivity, enabling applications such as XR, immersive communications, and massive IoT. Achieving these goals requires addressing major challenges in spectrum use, energy efficiency, coverage, and resilience. A key enabler for the multi-functional 6G networks (ISAC, wireless power transfer and physical layer security) will be the FR3 mid-band (7–24 GHz), which balances coverage and capacity better than FR1 or FR2. QUEST-6G introduces a framework combining reconfigurable intelligent systems, XL antenna arrays, new transmission modes, and quantum technologies to realize a multi-band, multi-functional 6G vision. XL arrays extend near-field regions, enabling beamfocusing with angular and range control for spatial multiplexing and interference management. Cell-free architectures with distributed RUs in WD-MIMO configurations, aligned with the ORAN paradigm, create hybrid near/far-field (NF/FF) conditions requiring new signal processing methods. The project designs reconfigurable, software-defined XL arrays as well as compact beamsteering frontends; develops hybrid NF/FF beamforming algorithms; and proposes adaptive waveforms, frame structures, and multiband coexistence schemes. It performs NF/FF FR3 channel sounding and modeling, implements an FR3 beamfocusing chip, and investigates accelerating “bending” beams. QUEST-6G proposes the integration of Quantum Technologies for accelerating the solution of optimization problems in the 6G environment. At system level, QUEST-6G applies quantum optimization and quantum ML for hybrid precoding, resource allocation, CSI prediction, and more, with deployment on both quantum platforms and edge devices. Finally, an AI-native intent-based RAN layer will translate high-level requirements into optimal configurations using semantic reasoning and explainable orchestration. Innovations will be validated via simulations, and PoCs.
  • 6G-CARE
    2026 - 2029 ---- 6G-enabled Connected and Autonomous Response for eHealth (6G-CARE) Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 6 119 672.00 EUR - 499 172.50 EUR (IMEC). Members: 13 Institutions (Academia and Industry). 6G-CARE will deploy six use cases across trial sites in Belgium, Greece, France, the UK, Luxembourg, and Spain, each addressing a distinct healthcare challenge while assessing performance, sustainability, and scalability under real-world conditions.Healthcare systems across Europe face increasing pressure from ageing populations, rising costs, and shortages of medical staff. At the same time, demand is growing for efficient, personalised, and accessible healthcare services, including in remote and emergency settings. 6G-CARE addresses these challenges by integrating advanced 6G enablers into a modular, interoperable platform codesigned with medical stakeholders to ensure clinical relevance and practical impact. Healthcare is the primary vertical, with emergency response as a complementary focus, reflecting their shared need for AI-based, ultra-reliable, low-latency communications and secure data exchange. The project adopts a framework based on existing SNS and open-source platforms, enabling seamless integration with healthcare systems and ensuring reusability for other verticals. Each trial site will conduct end-to-end testing to validate KPIs and KVIs, with strong emphasis on societal, environmental, and economic sustainability. 6G-CARE delivers 16 technology components, from deployable private 5G/6G networks and quality-on-demand orchestration to AI wearables, VR rehabilitation, holographic communication, and digital twin-based trial management. It will feed real-world requirements into standardisation while ensuring outcomes are market-ready through strong SME, healthcare, and industry involvement. By combining advanced 6G enablers with socio-economic evaluation, 6G-CARE will demonstrate better outcomes for the healthcare sector, lower environmental impact, and greater system resilience. Its results will serve as a blueprint for scaling secure, sustainable ehealth services across Europe, strengthening EU leadership in 6G-enabled healthcare.
  • Cyber4CA
    2025 - 2028. Development of Innovative Graduate Educational Program in Cyber Security for Digital labor market of Central Asia (Cyber4CA) Funding body: ERASMUS - Capacity building in the field of higher education. 799 985.26 EUR - 74 863.62 EUR (University of Antwerp). Members: 17 institutions. One of the key elements of Cyber Security (CS) is its relevance in the field of Higher Education. Growing cybersecurity threats require specialists with in-depth knowledge in areas such as quantum cryptography, blockchain technologies, SOC, information security incident investigation, practical pentesting, Internet of Things (IoT) security, AI and many others.The integration of CS necessitates graduates who possess knowledge related to the field. This is where the Cyber4CA project steps in, aiming to advance students' skills further.
  • GREET
    2025 - 2029. Generative Explainee-aware Explainability and Transparency in Proactive Cyber-Physical Eco-Environments (GREET) Funding body: Horizon Europe - MSCA Doctoral Networks. 4495846.32 EUR - 577080.00 EUR (University of Antwerp). Members: 13 Institutions (Academia and Industry). As an interdisciplinary endeavour, the GREET network brings together leading institutions and companies in Cyber-Physical System (CPS), AI, software engineering and cognitive interaction research across Europe with the aim of training a new generation of scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs that will move Europe into a leading role in the scientific and technological innovation in Generative AI-driven CPS, its proactivity and explainability. Linking the leading academic and industrial partners in the above areas, GREET will form an effective and unique training network powerfully combining the best research training with a range of academic and industrial placements, specialist research and knowledge transfer workshops. It will develop and train a new generation of young researchers through a set of key research projects, developing breakthrough CPS systems and services that feature generative cognition, explainee-aware generative explainability, and transparent proactivity in highly secured CPS eco-environments. It will shape the delivery of training in the novel generative AI-driven CPS across Europe: delivering key insights into the science and models of the proposed CPS, setting up its scientific foundation, and equipping the DN’s recruited Doctoral Candidates with skills to drive the next innovative steps in this key area of generative AI-driven CPS. These steps include building a sustainable innovation ecosphere and community, disseminating and exploiting this new CPS’s learning and understanding of the eco-internals, ecosurroundings and eco-dynamics in many vital societal and economic services, including Industry 5.0, smart city, healthcare, energy, emergency handling, social robotics and elderly care. The innovation perspective of these new CPS is substantial, which will be particularly important for handling services that involve humans and in critical situations, e.g., in emergency and hazardous environments.  
  • AMAZING-6G
    2025 - 2028. Amazing Large-Scale Trials and Pilots for Verticals in 6G (AMAZING-6G) Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 14 220 129.75 EUR - 651 700.00 EUR (IMEC). Members: 31 European institutions (Research and Industry). AMAZING-6G proposes a novel set of 14 use cases in the domains of Healthcare, Public Safety, Energy and Transport (including Rail) which will be showcased in large-scale trials and pilots across Europe. Innovative technology enablers are planned to be developed and tested in the areas of Communications, Compute-as-a-Service, Applications and AI, IoT and localization. Security aspects will be taken into consideration in the development of solutions. Framed in this context, the significance of large-scale trials in B5G/6G networks lies not only in their ability to validate the technical capabilities of the technology but also in their capacity to unveil new use cases and applications that were previously inconceivable. As we move towards a world where the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, and artificial intelligence play central roles in our daily lives, these trials provide a unique opportunity to explore the potential of B5G/6G in fostering innovative solutions across various sectors, from healthcare and transportation to utilities and public/environment safety. Through large-scale trials, stakeholders can gain valuable insights into the transformative power of B5G/6G networks and strategically position themselves to harness the full spectrum of opportunities that this cutting-edge technology offers.
  • BEL6GICA
    2024 ---- Blueprint for Excellence and Leadership in 6G through Interregional Concerted Action (BEL6GICA) Funding body: FOD Economie Belgie. 1.500.000 EUR. Members: imec, Universite catholique de Louvain, Patrimoine de l Universite de Mons, Multitel, Universiteit Gent, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), KU Leuven. Belgium. BEL6GICA is a concerted action that combines the contributions of the best academic research groups and institutes in this field across Belgium to map the landscape, identify specific needs, review complementarities and gaps, and establish a roadmap to maximize the impact and opportunities for Belgium in a future world where a region's competitiveness will depend heavily on the frictionless use of artificial intelligence (both centrally and at the edge of the network among citizens, government and businesses), the associated public and private data flows, the link between the physical and virtual worlds, and the know-how around it. Moreover, we will take in account both sustainability for 6G and 6G for sustainability. As Nokia's CEO said: "There is no green without digital". This is the world of 6G.
  • 6G-XCEL
    2024 - 2026. 6G Trans-Continental Edge Learning (6G-XCEL) seeks to address these challenges through research on high edge network use cases that employ multi-party AI controls running over compute accelerators to coordinate control across radio and optical networks. It will develop a reference framework for AI in 6G that will pave the way towards global validation, adoption and standardisation of AI approaches. This framework will enable decentralised AI-based network controls across network domains and physical layers, while promoting security and sustainable implementations. Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 2 994 474.25 EUR - 299 858.75 EUR (IMEC). Members: 11 EU + 13 USA institutions (Research and Industry).
  • iSEE-6G
    2024 - 2026. Integrated SEnsing, Energy and communication for 6G networks (iSEE-6G). The idea of Joint communication and sensing (JCS) capabilities is a revolutionary and innovative solution. A single system has the potential to offer significant advances in various fields, such as smart transportation, smart cities, smart homes, healthcare, security, and environmental monitoring. iSEE-6G extends beyond JCS and propose a Joint Communication, Computation, Sensing, and Power transfer (JCCSP) unified radio platform, which includes all support elements of the proposed solutions in future 6G networks. Funding body: Horizon Europe - Joint Undertaking Smart Networks and Services - European Commission. 4 340 962.00 EUR - 499 836.00 (BE). Members: 12 European Institutions (Research and Industry).
  • Hexa-X-II
  • 6GSTART
  • TrialsNet
  • FOR-FREIGHT
  • DEDICAT 6G
  • VITAL-5G
  • DAEMON
  • WLAN MAC Modeling and Network Slicing
  • 5G-Blueprint
  • InterConnect
  • Safeguards of the cultural heritage.
    2019-2022. Safeguards of the cultural heritage: Tools and practices for its intergrated management in Santiago de Cuba and the Eastern Region of Cuba. Funding body: VLIR Belgium. 600,000.00 EUR. Members: UAntwerp, KULeuven, UGhent, VUB (Belgium) - Universidad de Oriente (Cuba).
  • 5GMobix
    2018-2022. 5G for cooperative & connected automated MOBIility on X-border corridors (5GMobix). Funding body: H2020 European Commission. 26,948,801.75 EUR. Members: 46 Consortium Members (Industry and Academia).
  • 5G-CARMEN
  • Fed4FIRE+
  • FUTEBOL
  • eWINE
  • FAVORITE
    2014-2016. Federation And Virtualization Of a RadIoTEstbed (FAVORITE) / OC Federation for FIRE (Fed4FIRE). Funding body: FP7, European Commission. 104,667.00. EUR / 12,244,569.00 EUR. Members: 42 members (Academia and Industry) within Europe.
  • Future WWW Prefetching and Caching Architectures
    2005-2008. Future WWW Prefetching and Caching Architectures Funding body: EU - Alban Programme (Excellence program). 7,458.00 EUR. Members: Personal Grant.

National projects

  • Net4Robo
    2026 -- Dynamic Beyond 5G Network Services for Remotely-operated Humanoids-Robots Funding body: imec. 100.000,00 EUR (imec-UAntwerpen). Members: IDLab UAntwerp. Belgium.
  • Magnolia
    2026 - 2028 ---- Multi-Access 6G Networking and Orchestration for Low latency ImmersiveApplications (MAGNOLIA) Funding body: imec ICON. 3.637.455,00 EUR - 728.000 EUR imec-UAntwerpen. Members: Telenet, Nokia Bell Labs, PreviewLabs, Televic, Televic Rail, imec-UGent, imec-UAntwerp (Belgium). Belgium.
  • ZERO
    2025 - 2027 --- ZEro-touch and ZeRO-trust framework for intelligent and trustworthy Next-Generation Networks (ZERO) Funding body: University of Antwerp / IOF SEP. 100.000 EUR. Members: Personal Grant. Antwerp, Belgium.
  • SLICES FLANDERS
    2023 - 2026 --- SLICES Flanders 2022 - Flemish participation in Scientific LargeScale Infrastructure for Computing/Communication Experimental Studies Funding body: Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO). 2 000 000 EUR - 800 000 EUR (UAntwerp). Members: imec, University of Antwerp, Ghent University. Belgium.
  • ValArch5G
    2022 - 2025 ---- Validated Architectures using private 5G for teleoperation, collaborative operation for ASVs/AGVs (ValArch5G) Funding body: Flanders Make ICON. 1.687.828,00 EUR - 81,167,00 EUR imec-UAntwerpen. Members: Flanders Make-MotionS, Flanders Make- DecisionS, e-BO enterprises, Bekaert, GEOxyz, Acelleran, imec-UGent, imec-UAntwerp (Belgium). Belgium.
  • VELOCe
    2022 - 2023 ---- Verifiable, Low-latency End-to-end Communication (VELOCe) Funding body: imec ICON. 2.372.296,67 EUR - 463.590,00 EUR imec-UAntwerpen. Members: Televic Conference, e-Bo Enterprises, Qorvo, imec-UGent, imec-UAntwerp (Belgium). Belgium .
  • 5GECO
    2022 - 2024 ---- Intelligent, flexible and automated management of neutral host sharing of Open RAN with shared transport network (5GECO) Funding body: imec ICON. 2,900,000 EUR - 695.385 EUR imec-UAntwerpen. Members: Accelerant, Nokia Bell Labs, Citymesh, imec-UGent, imec-UAntwerp (Belgium). Belgium.
  • IOF Consortium IDLab
    2021-2026. IOF Consortium IDLab. Funding body: IOF University of Antwerp. 1 IOF Manager FTE equivalent for 6 years. Members: IDLab UAntwerp. Antwerp, Belgium.
  • MOZAIK: Scalable and Secure Data Sharing
    2021-2025. Funding body: FWO Belgium - SBO/E Strategic Basic Research-Economic. 1,905,609.00 EUR. Members: University of Antwerp, Gent University, KU Leuven. Belgium.
  • FIVE G'D
    2020-2023. Funding body: Vlaamse Ministry. 1,746,517.00 EUR. Members: imec, Verhaert, Crescent, DroneMatrix. Belgium.
  • Internet of Water
  • WTSN - Wireless Time Sensitive Networks
    2020-2021. Funding body: imec. Confidential EUR (imec-Uantwerpen). Members: IDLab UAntwerp, IDLab UGhent. Belgium.
  • SmartWaterway
  • HAI-SCS
  • IMEC-UA A
    2020. Funding body: imec. Confidential EUR. Members: IDLab UAntwerp. Belgium.
  • AI & Slicing 5G RAN
    2020. AI & Slicing 5G RAN. Funding body: Private. Confidential EUR. Members: Accelleran - imec-UAntwerp. Antwerp, Belgium.
  • Better than Wired
    2020.Funding body: imec. Confidential EUR. Members: IDLab UAntwerp, IDLab UGhent. Belgium .
  • 5G vehicular communications
    2020. Funding body: Private. Confidential EUR. Members: Toyota Belgium - imec-UAntwerp - imec UGent. Brussels, Belgium.
  • IMEC-UA A
    2019. Funding body: imec. Confidential EUR. Members: IDLab UAntwerp. Belgium.
  • Virtualized 5G RAN
    2019-2020. Funding body: Private. Confidential EUR. Members: Accelleran - imec-UAntwerp. Antwerp, Belgium.
  • IMEC-UA A
    2018. Funding body: imec. Confidential EUR. Members: IDLab UAntwerp. Belgium.
  • Virtual and Remote Laboratories
    2016-2017. Virtual and Remote Laboratories: analysis and research on new methodologies to improve the in-class and remote education. Funding body: University of Zaragoza - Academic Unit - Teaching and Learning Enhancement Program. 500.00 EU. Members: University of Zaragoza - iNiT Research Group. Teruel, Spain.

Participation on other projects

I participate(d) in the research related to the following research projects:

International & EU projects

National projects

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