Future 4D Mobility Networks: Testbed-Driven Communications, Sensing and Molding with the SWaP-Constrained Platforms

Dear Colleagues,

“4D wireless transportation networks” denotes integrated three-dimensional mobility—ground, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), stratospheric platforms, and LEO satellite overlays—combined with explicit time variability due to motion, blockage, and rapidly changing topologies. The convergence of space, air, and ground transportation systems is transforming global connectivity. Emerging platforms such as satellite constellations, UAVs, high-speed rail, and autonomous vehicles demand advanced electromagnetic technologies to enable seamless sensing, communication, and computation across heterogeneous networks. Future space–air–ground integrated networks must support fast-moving, SWaP-constrained platforms (size, weight, and power limitations), creating urgent needs for innovations in transceivers, communication protocols, network convergence, and propagation modeling. Addressing these challenges requires solutions that combine fundamental electromagnetic advances, sensing and communication algorithms, new radio maps with hardware validation and measurement-based verification to ensure reliability, efficiency, and security in real-world environments.

This Special Issue will highlight experimentally/testbed validated technological innovations that enable high-performance transportation networks. Target contributions include algorithm verifications, testbed for communication/sensing/computation protocols, new radio map measurements, compact antenna systems for multi-domain integration, intelligent meta-surfaces for dynamic environments, propagation modeling for ground-to-air and space links, and EM-compatible system design for dense, multi-network operation.   

This Special Issue will provide a timely platform for researchers and practitioners to present innovative, validated, and deployable technological solutions that drive the next generation of intelligent transportation and integrated mobility networks.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Antennas and arrays for constrained platforms on the vehicle/flights/satellites;
• Programmable and reconfigurable meta-surfaces (RIS) for transportation networks;
• Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) for transportation corridors;
• Channel modeling and measurement for transportation networks radio maps;
• Localization, sensing, and tracking with transportation networks radio maps;
• New dimensions of electromagnetic waves for communications, sensing and computation;
• AI-enabled EM design and algorithms for vehicle mounted system;
• AI-driven optimization methods for SWaP-constrained platforms;
• Electromagnetic compatibility, coexistence, and spectrum sharing;
• Energy-aware links and wireless powering for SWaP-constrained platforms.

Dr. Yufei Zhao
Dr. Zeliang An
Dr. Deyu Lin
Guest Editors

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