I am affiliated with the fortiss research institute, where I lead the Industrial IoT (IIoT) competence field. Our work focuses on networking and computing architectures that enable the efficient deployment, orchestration, and operation of heterogeneous and decentralized services and resources. A central theme of my research is interoperability in large-scale, application critical environments composed of diverse and highly complex components, settings that are characteristic of modern Industrial IoT systems.

My work aims to establish foundations for adaptive, resilient, and scalable IIoT infrastructures, with particular emphasis on IoT-Edge-Cloud, semantic system behavior for real-time adaptation, intelligent, infrastructures, AI-driven, that can support distributed intelligence. Keywords: IoT-Edge-Cloud; networking architectures and protocolos; AI-driven orchestration.

CONASENSE 2025 at IEEE WPMC2025

See CFP here: https://www.conasense.org/conasense-2025

Date: November 10th, 2025
Location: Technical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria and hybrid mode
Event: 15th CONASENSE Workshop, co-located with IEEE WPMC 2025

The development of a sustainable 6G ecosystem requires debate and contribution across communications, sensing, human-centric services, and sustainability. Virtualization and softwarization of network and compute resources enable large-scale adaptability for vast device populations—extending beyond data communications to end-to-end resource management across the IoT-Edge-Cloud continuum.

Computation and networking are increasingly intertwined. AI is pivotal for automation, optimization, and intelligent orchestration. To ensure resilient and energy-efficient applications, research must advance architectural, networking, and orchestration paradigms beyond conventional cloud and telecom stacks.

CONASENSE Workshop 2025 spotlights efficient, resilient resource management across IoT-Edge-Cloud—emphasizing AI-driven orchestration with energy efficiency by default. From a Telco-Cloud viewpoint, we invite work on cloud-native architectures, AI-driven network automation, and SDN + Kubernetes integration to improve efficiency, scalability, and adaptability across the Edge-Cloud continuum.

ML4ECS at HiPEAC 2025

See: https://ml4ecs.e-ce.uth.gr/

Jan 2025: Autonomic end-to-end system management across the cloud-edge continuum is becoming increasingly critical as computational demands, scale, dynamics, and system heterogeneity grow rapidly. Machine Learning for Edge-Cloud Systems (ML4ECS) is a full-day workshop that focuses on academic and industrial innovation and research on developing and deploying AI/ML models to enable optimized system management and application execution on the continuum.

The workshop aims to bring together a community of researchers and practitioners who study problems at the intersection of ML, Edge-Cloud continuum, distributed and dependable system operation, and flexible, adaptive, and resilient application deployment. It seeks to reach a broader community invested in this fast-evolving field, aiming to increase awareness of ongoing initiatives, encourage collaboration, and promote the open exchange of ideas.

Semantic Communications for IIoT

See: https://www.fortiss.org/en/research/projects/detail/semcomiiot

December 2024: The SemComIIoT project, a collaborative initiative between fortiss GmbH and Shandong University, is at the forefront of integrating semantic communications into Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments, particularly within the context of emerging 6G networks. The project aims to enhance communication efficiency and reliability in large-scale, time-sensitive industrial applications by focusing on the following key objectives:fortiss.org

Integration of Semantic Communications in Wireless Mechanisms: Developing wireless communication strategies that incorporate semantic principles to support time-sensitive applications with low latency and jitter in multi-user, mobile environments. This involves exploring foundational theories, such as Shannon's information theory, and studying network coding approaches to ensure deterministic guarantees like bounded latency (1-2 ms) while maximizing the number of endpoints served.
Context-Aware, Decentralized Learning Approaches: Investigating decentralized learning methods across edge and cloud infrastructures to support the encoding and decoding processes in semantic communications. This approach aims to facilitate efficient and adaptive communication in dynamic IIoT scenarios.
Holistic Design for Semantic Communications in IIoT: Proposing a comprehensive architecture for integrating semantic communications into IIoT scenarios. The goal is to achieve end-to-end resilience and support deterministic behavior of the infrastructure, accommodating various traffic types, including time-critical control signals and high-definition video streams

Probabilistic co-OFDMA: Performance in Overlapping Wi-Fi 6 Networks

S. Sena, R.C. Sofia, Probabilistic Co-OFDMA: Performance in Overlapping Wi-Fi 6 Networks. November 2024, IEEE WPMC 2024.

November 2024: This paper presents a design formulation and evaluation of a wireless co-OFDMA probabilistic algorithm aimed at optimizing resource utilization in overlapping Wi-Fi networks. The design formulation is grounded in realistic industrial application requirements, and the evaluation is conducted using the network simulator v3.0 with its DetNetWiFi module, which is capable of modeling deterministic wireless networks. The evaluation focuses on latency, jitter, and packet loss. Our findings demonstrate that co-OFDMA probabilistic approaches offer significant benefits in terms of latency in deterministic wireless environments. However, they may also introduce increased jitter compared to a static primary channel sharing scheme, aspect which may not be suitable to industrial wireless environments.

A Framework for Cognitive, Decentralised Container Orchestration

Rute C. Sofia, Salomon Josh,Ferlin-Reiter Simone,Garcés-Erice Luis,Urbanetz Peter,Mueller Harald,Touma Rizkallah,Espinosa Alejandro,Contreras Luis M.,Theodorou Vasileios,Psaromanolakis Nikos,Mamatas Lefteris,Tsaoussidis Vassilis,Fu Xiaoming,Yuan Tingting,del Rio Alberto,Jiménez David,Stam Andries,Paraskevoulakou Efterpi,Karamolegkos Panagiotis,Vieira Vitor,Martrat Josep,Prusiel Ignacio Mariscal,Matzakou Dorine,Soldatos John,Remon David,Jahn Marco . A Framework for Cognitive, Decentralized Container Orchestration. IEEE Access Vol 12, pp 79978 - 80008. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3406861. May 2024
See: https://he-codeco.eu/

May 2024: This perspective paper introduces a novel framework for container orchestration called CODECO. The CODECO orchestration framework relies on a data-network-computing approach to define the best infrastructure that can support the operation of next-generation Internet applications across a mobile, heterogeneous Edge-Cloud continuum. The selection of such an infrastructure is aligned with target performance profiles defined by the user, such as resilience or greenness. CODECO proposes to rely on decentralized Artificial Intelligence approaches to provide the most suitable infrastructure to an application deployment, considering infrastructural challenges, such as intermittent connectivity and node failure. This paper explains the current CODECO framework and gives insight into operational use-cases where CODECO is being deployed, as relevant examples of application for such a framework. Recent developments in the creation of the open-source CODECO framework are described and explained, allowing the use of the framework by the research community. The paper then provides a thorough analysis of CODECO's features in comparison with existing orchestration frameworks, explaining the benefits introduced with this dynamic orchestration approach.

Latest Advances on Deterministic Wired/Wireless Industrial Networks

Rute C. Sofia, Latest Advances on Deterministic on Deterministic Wired/Wireless Industrial Networks. Book "6G Connectivity-Systems, Technologies, and applications", River Publishers, USA, August 2024. ISBN: 9788770228350 e-ISBN: 9788770228701.

August 2024: This chapter investigates the most recent advances in deterministic OFDMA- based Wi-Fi for industrial applications. It concentrates on techniques that provide deterministic support in industrial networks where Wi-Fi 6 is used as an additional technology to a deterministic wired core. It examines scenarios and traffic patterns that are expected to be supported and proposes enhance- ments to further support deterministic guarantees in a way that is compatible with the existing deterministic support in the wired core. Furthermore, the chapter introduces the network simulator v3 DetNetWiFi framework, which was developed based on a realistic deterministic wired/wireless demonstra- tor, and which can be used to validate and experiment on a wired/wireless infrastructure that incorporates novel mechanisms for time synchronization, time-aware scheduling, and multi-AP co-OFDMA resource coordination.

New Book "Shaping the Future of IoT with Edge Intelligence"

How Edge Computing Enables the Next Generation of IoT Applications

J. Soldatos, Rute C. Sofia (Editors). Shaping the Future of IoT with Edge Intelligence. River Publishers, USA. January 2024. ISBN: 9788770040273, 9781032632407, 9788770040433, 9781003812159. DOI: 10.1201/9781032632407.

Jan 2024: This book explores the core technologies that empower edge intelligence and their application in cutting-edge IoT solutions. It focuses on how 5G/6G, Edge AI, and Blockchain technologies enable decentralized, intelligent use cases across the cloud/edge/IoT continuum.

A key emphasis is placed on how these technologies address a broad spectrum of functional and non-functional requirements, including low latency, high performance, cybersecurity, data protection, real-time responsiveness, energy efficiency, and more.

The book’s chapters are contributed by several EU-funded research projects, each of which has developed innovative platforms for edge intelligence. These projects offer diverse approaches, leveraging unique combinations of networking, middleware, and IoT technologies, resulting in a wide range of practical applications across different sectors. Each chapter presents a distinctive perspective, reflecting real-world integration of enabling technologies.

The book is structured into five thematic parts:

Part I – 5G/6G Networking for Edge Intelligence
Explores the role of next-generation networks in supporting edge intelligence, highlighting their impact on IoT architectures.
Part II – AI at the Edge
Showcases IoT applications powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence deployed at the network edge.
Part III – Decentralized Intelligence with Blockchain
Highlights distributed IoT applications enabled by blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs).
Part IV – Real-World Use Cases Across the Continuum
Presents novel IoT applications and use cases spanning the cloud, edge, and device layers.
Part V – Business and Skills for Next-Gen IoT
Discusses business models, market adoption, and the digital skills needed to support next-generation IoT ecosystems.

Fine Time Measurement based Time Synchronization for Multi-AP Wireless Industrial Environments

S. H. Mohan, R.C. Sofia, Fine Time Measurement based Time Synchronization for Multi-AP Wireless Industrial Environments. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/WiMob58348.2023.10187788, IEEE WiMob 2023

November 2023: In Industrial environments, such as factories, equipment are often connected through Ethernet or its complementary Time Sensitive Networking to support critical applications that require low latency and low jitter in the order of milliseconds. To meet these requirements, precise time synchronization across all wired devices is typically achieved using the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) at the Local Area Network (LAN) level. Although PTP can synchronize devices across wireless networks, Wi-Fi has more effective synchronization mechanisms, like Fine Time Measurement (FTM) that can achieve precise and tight synchronization. As new wireless standards like Wi-Fi 6/7 are integrated into industrial networks, the number of wireless devices in these networks is increasing. It is essential to consider new functional-ities, such as multi access point (AP) coordination, which require precise time synchronization. Aiming at contributing to the time synchronization solution across multi-AP industrial internet of things (IIoT) environments, this paper proposes an approach based on multi-level hierarchical methodology to synchronize the devices. It provides a method for selecting the best FTM Responder to distribute time when multiple FTM responders and initiators are present in the network. The evaluation of the proposed methodologies indicates that it successfully synchronizes all devices within the network, and the best FTM responder selection algorithm performs as expected.

New Book "6G Vision for a Sustainable and People-centric Future"

From Communications to Services, the CONASENSE Perspective

Rute C. Sofia, R. Prasad (editors). 6G visions for a sustainable and people-centric future – from communications to services, the CONASENSE perspective. Riverside Publishers, August 2023. ISBN: 9788770227513. e-ISBN: 9788770227506. November 2023.

November 2023: 6G is currently under definition, often being addressed from a plain telecommunications perspective as an evolutionary paradigm that represents an extension of 5G. Having as its horizon 2030, 6G initiatives are being deployed across the globe, to further ignite the development of 6G services. In its philosophy core, 6G embodies the "human in the loop" principle. The research effort aimed at 6G requires an interdisciplinary approach that ignites discussion across different key technological sectors, ranging from communications to services and business cases.

The contribution of this book to research in the field concerns an evolutionary and interdisciplinary design of 6G as a paradigm that can be addressed by working together the four different computational areas of CONASENSE: communications; satellites and navigation; sensing; services.

This book starts with a perspective on 6G challenges towards sustainability and addressing new business models, moving on to key topics concerning communications. It ends with chapters focusing on 6G service design.

This book is, therefore, envisioned to assist in developing critical thinking to back up novel networking, applications, and services towards 6G.

Highly Cited Paper Award - Performance Analysis of IoT Protocols

A Performance Analysis of Internet of Things Networking Protocols: Evaluating MQTT, CoAP, OPC UA

April 2023: the 2021 paper has received a "Highly Cited Award" of Applied Sciences MDPI!

Paper summary:April 2023: the 2021 paper has received a "Highly Cited Award" of Applied Sciences MDPI!

IoT data exchange is supported today by different communication protocols and communication architectures, each of which with its own advantages and disadvantages, and often co-existing in a way that is mandated by vendor policies. Although different protocols are relevant in different domains, there is not a protocol that provides better performance (jitter, latency, energy consumption) across different scenarios. The focus of this work is two-fold. Firstly, to provide a comparison of the different available solutions, including the Named Data Networking architecture as a relevant example of an Information-centric networking architecture for IoT. Secondly, the work focuses on evaluating three of the most popular protocols used both in Consumer as well as in Industrial IoT environments: MQTT, CoAP, and OPC UA. The experimentation has been carried out first on a local testbed for MQTT, COAP and OPC UA. Then, larger experiments have been carried out for MQTT and CoAP, based on the large-scale FIT-IoT testbed. Results show that CoAP is the protocol that achieves across all scenarios lowest time-to-completion, while OPC UA, albeit exhibiting less variability, resulted in higher time-to-completion in comparison to CoAP or MQTT.

ns-3 DetNetWiFi framework

Latest update: March 2025

Download at: https://lnkd.in/e-incWKw

The framework is one of the results of the effort that has been developed by members of the @fortiss IIoT team in the context of industrial and research projects over the last 2 years, and is based on the Wi-Fi 6/TSN demonstrator deployed at the @fortiss IIoT Lab.

Components:

1. Modelling of TSN endpoints and TSN enabled switches interconnected to TSN WLAN regions, including a Time-Aware Shaper

2. Target Wake Time-based time-aware scheduling

3. Per node Timing Model.

4. Fine Time Measurement protocol based synchronisation

5. Documentation, including tutorials, scientific papers, and installation videos.

6. Examples: examples for an end-to-end design (wired/wireless); and for environments with overlapping BSSs (multi-AP environments).

OLDER Work

the ns-3 DetNetWiFi simulation framework has been presented in the 5G/wireless conference at the Hannover Messe, Apr 2023 (Talk here)

CSA EU-IoT closing event here: Recordings available here, March 2023

WICE Panel "Large-scale sensing 6G IoT services towards society, challenges and drivers", Dec 2022

Our fortiss IIoT project appears in the VDMA Future Manufacturing magazine!, Oct 2022

Check the 6G platform CONASENSE information, June 2022

Check the IEEE Access "Internet of Space" special issue on "Internet of Space", Sep 2022

Aspects of Global Mobility Management for Next Generation Networks — Nov 12, 2018 7:51:38 PM

Evolving Communications in IoT — Sep 21, 2018 6:58:59 PM

DABBER: Data reAchaBility BasEd Routing for Named-data Networking Wireless Environments — Apr 6, 2018 11:04:52 AM

The Role of Smart Data in Inference of Human Behavior and Interaction - book Chapter — Apr 6, 2018 10:31:09 AM

Connecting the Edges: A Universal, Mobile-Centric, and Opportunistic Communications Architecture — Feb 19, 2018 4:04:06 PM

Senception 'Ones to Watch', running for Public European Champion 2017/2018 — Feb 1, 2018 10:19:48 AM

TUM Kolloquium: Contextual Interaction inference and characterization derived from wireless network mining — Sep 18, 2017 12:10:23 PM

NSense presented in IEEE Healthcom2016 — Sep 18, 2017 12:05:00 PM

Food for Thought — Nov 5, 2015 11:17:19 PM

Dynamic Frequency Sharing, wireless multi-station downstream transmission — Apr 17, 2015 1:21:44 PM

Trust Circles in Internet Architectural Design — Apr 15, 2015 10:02:57 PM

Mobility in Multihop routing - yet another routing protocol, or can we explore alternatives to the complete protocolar design? — Apr 15, 2015 12:49:40 AM

Energy-awareness in multihop routing — Apr 15, 2015 12:28:46 AM

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