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Publications

Publications by Kamran Shafafi

2026

Autonomous Vision-Aided UAV Positioning for Obstacle-Aware Wireless Connectivity

Authors
Shafafi, K; Ricardo, M; Campos, R;

Publication
IEEE OPEN JOURNAL OF VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY

Abstract
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer a promising solution for enhancing wireless connectivity and Quality of Service (QoS) in urban environments, acting as aerial Wi-Fi access points or cellular base stations to support vehicular users and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) applications. Their flexibility and rapid deployment capabilities make them suitable for addressing infrastructure gaps and traffic surges. However, optimizing UAV positions to maintain Line of Sight (LoS) links with ground User Equipment (UEs) remains challenging in obstacle-dense urban scenarios. Existing approaches rely on probabilistic blockage models or require dedicated infrastructure such as Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces. This paper proposes VTOPA, a Vision-Aided Traffic- and Obstacle-Aware Positioning Algorithm that complements these approaches by autonomously extracting environmental information-such as obstacle geometries and UE locations-via computer vision, enabling infrastructure-free deployment. The algorithm employs Particle Swarm Optimization to determine UAV positions that maximize aggregate throughput while prioritizing LoS connectivity and accounting for heterogeneous traffic demands. VTOPA is particularly suited for rapid deployment scenarios such as emergency response and temporary events. Evaluated through simulations in ns-3, VTOPA achieves up to 50% increase in aggregate throughput and 50% reduction in delay, outperforming state of the art benchmarks in obstacle-rich environments.

2025

Joint Optimization of Multi-UAV Deployment and 3D Positioning in Traffic-Aware Aerial Networks

Authors
Shafafi, K; Abdellatif, AA; Ricardo, M; Campos, R;

Publication
2025 IEEE VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, VCC

Abstract
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a promising solution for next-generation wireless networks due to their mobility, rapid deployment, and ability to provide Line-of-Sight (LoS) connectivity. However, deploying multiple UAVs in realt-ime to meet dynamic, non-uniform traffic demands remains a significant challenge, especially when aiming to optimize network throughput and resource utilization. In this paper, we propose the Efficient Multi-UAV Traffic-Aware Deployment (EMTAD) algorithm, a scalable algorithm that jointly minimizes UAV count and optimizes 3D positioning based on real-time user distribution and traffic demand. In contrast to prior works that assume static user patterns or fixed UAV counts, EMTAD dynamically adapts UAV deployment to maximize spectral efficiency and satisfy user-specific Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. Simulation results demonstrate that EMTAD reduces the number of UAVs required and achieves superior aggregate throughput compared to baseline approaches.

2025

PEL: Population-Enhanced Learning Classification for ECG Signal Analysis

Authors
Pourvahab, M; Mousavirad, SJ; Lashgari, F; Monteiro, A; Shafafi, K; Felizardo, V; Pais, S;

Publication
Studies in Computational Intelligence

Abstract
In the study, a new method for analyzing Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is suggested, which is vital for detecting and treating heart diseases. The technique focuses on improving ECG signal classification, particularly in identifying different heart conditions like arrhythmias and myocardial infarctions. An enhanced version of the differential evolution (DE) algorithm integrated with neural networks is leveraged to classify these signals effectively. The process starts with preprocessing and extracting key features from ECG signals. These features are then processed by a multi-layer perceptron (MLP), a common neural network for ECG analysis. However, traditional MLP training methods have limitations, such as getting trapped in suboptimal solutions. To overcome this, an advanced DE algorithm is used, incorporating a partition-based strategy, opposition-based learning, and local search mechanisms. This improved DE algorithm optimizes the MLP by fine-tuning its weights and biases, using them as starting points for further refinement by the Gradient Descent with Momentum (GDM) local search algorithm. Extensive experiments demonstrate that this novel training approach yields better results than the traditional method. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

A Framework to Develop and Validate RL-Based Obstacle-Aware UAV Positioning Algorithms

Authors
Shafafi, K; Ricardo, M; Campos, R;

Publication
2025 IEEE 36TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PERSONAL, INDOOR AND MOBILE RADIO COMMUNICATIONS, PIMRC

Abstract
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) increasingly enhance the Quality of Service (QoS) in wireless networks due to their flexibility and cost-effectiveness. However, optimizing UAV placement in dynamic, obstacle-prone environments remains a significant research challenge due to their complexity. Reinforcement Learning (RL) offers adaptability and robustness in such environments, proving effective for UAV positioning optimization. This paper introduces RLpos-3, a novel framework that integrates standard RL techniques and simulation libraries with Network Simulator 3 (ns-3) to facilitate the development and evaluation of UAV positioning algorithms. RLpos-3 serves as a supplementary tool for researchers, enabling the implementation, analysis, and benchmarking of UAV positioning strategies across diverse environmental conditions while meeting user traffic demands. To validate its effectiveness, we present use cases demonstrating RLpos-3's performance in optimizing UAV placement under realistic conditions, such as urban and obstacle-rich environments.

2024

Traffic and Obstacle-Aware UAV Positioning in Urban Environments Using Reinforcement Learning

Authors
Shafafi, K; Ricardo, M; Campos, R;

Publication
IEEE ACCESS

Abstract
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are suited as cost-effective and adaptable platforms for carrying Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) and cellular Base Stations (BSs). Implementing aerial networks in disaster management scenarios and crowded areas can effectively enhance Quality of Service (QoS). Maintaining Line-of-Sight (LoS) in such environments, especially at higher frequencies, is crucial for ensuring reliable communication networks with high capacity, particularly in environments with obstacles. The main contribution of this paper is a traffic- and obstacle-aware UAV positioning algorithm named Reinforcement Learning-based Traffic and Obstacle-aware Positioning Algorithm (RLTOPA), for such environments. RLTOPA determines the optimal position of the UAV by considering the positions of ground users, the coordinates of obstacles, and the traffic demands of users. This positioning aims to maximize QoS in terms of throughput by ensuring optimal LoS between ground users and the UAV. The network performance of the proposed solution, characterized in terms of mean delay and throughput, was evaluated using the ns-3 simulator. The results show up to 95% improvement in aggregate throughput and 71% in delay without compromising fairness.

2023

Joint Traffic and Obstacle-aware UAV Positioning Algorithm for Aerial Networks

Authors
Shafafi, K; Coelho, A; Campos, R; Ricardo, M;

Publication
2023 IEEE 9TH WORLD FORUM ON INTERNET OF THINGS, WF-IOT

Abstract
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly used as cost-effective and flexible Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) and cellular Base Stations (BSs) to enhance Quality of Service (QoS). In disaster management scenarios, UAV-based networks provide on-demand wireless connectivity when traditional infrastructures fail. In obstacle-rich environments like urban areas, reliable high-capacity communications links depend on Line-of-Sight (LoS) availability, especially at higher frequencies. Positioning UAVs to consider obstacles and enable LoS communications represents a promising solution that requires further exploration and development. The main contribution of this paper is the Traffic- and Obstacle-aware UAV Positioning Algorithm (TOPA). TOPA takes into account the users' traffic demand and the need for LoS between the UAV and the ground users in the presence of obstacles. The network performance achieved when using TOPA was evaluated through ns-3 simulations. The results show up to 100% improvement in the aggregate throughput without compromising fairness.

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