Contact Professor Saba Al-Rubaye
- Tel: +44 (0) 1234 754887
- Email: S.Alrubaye@cranfield.ac.uk
Areas of expertise
- Aeronautical Systems
- Autonomous Systems
- Communications Systems
- Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
- Industrial Automation
- Systems Engineering
- Vehicle Health Management
Background
Professor Saba Al-Rubaye, a Canadian professional, currently serves as Professor Chair in Telecommunications and Autonomous Systems in the School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing at Â鶹Éç and UK Telecoms Innovation Network Expert. Additionally, she is leading the research and development at Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC) at Â鶹Éç, where she is contributing to the advancement of 6G technology and its potential applications in future communication networks. With over 20 years of experience in both industry and academia, Prof Al-Rubaye has a proven track record in initiating innovative solutions across various domains, including design, testing, consultation, leadership, and program development. She has actively participated in numerous projects sponsored by prestigious organizations such as Innovate UK, Research England, EPSRC, the Department for Transport, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the USA Government. An essential contribution made by Prof Al-Rubaye was her involvement in establishing the hardware in the loop testbed for smart grid communications and system integration at Quanta's Sustainable Technology Integration Laboratory (QT-STIL) in Toronto, Canada. These projects are significant steps towards expediting the adoption of emerging technology solutions and their integration into future communications networks.
Prof Al-Rubaye actively participates in the development of industry standards, contributing as a voting member in IEEE P1932.1 standard for License/Unlicensed Interoperability and IEEE P1920.2 standard for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Her research work has been published in various prestigious IEEE journals and conferences, earning her the distinguished honour of receiving the best technical paper award in 2011 and 2015, respectively, in IEEE Vehicular Technology as well as best paper in IEEE DASC conference 2020 and 2021.
Furthermore, Prof Al-Rubaye has taken on leadership roles in several international conferences, including serving as a general co-chair and TPC co-chair. She has also delivered tutorials/Talk at esteemed IEEE conferences such as ICC and VTC, as well as delivering invited talks at reputable venues like the Communications Research Centre (CRC) of Canada, IEEE Toronto Chapter, and IEEE UK Chapter. Prof Saba Al-Rubaye is a distinguished professional Chartered Engineer (CEng), MIET, and a Life Senior member of IEEE. Additionally, she holds a commercial certificate as an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Pilot in the UK.
Research opportunities
Post-Docs: The group has a number of project-based openings throughout year. We also welcome top-quality motivated fellowship applicants (RAEng, UKRI, H2020 MSCA), please send a detailed CV and your top 1-2 Journal papers for a discussion.
Group Alumni (PhD)
Dr Abdulmohsan Aloseel- Embedded system security
Dr Nasr Abosata -Distributed Sensors for Industrial Applications
Dr Aminah Ahmed- Intelligent Traffic Systems
Dr Anirudh Warrier - UAV Handover & Interference
Dr Huw Whitworth - Connectivity & Security
Group Alumni (Staff)
Dr Mumin Ozpolat- UAS Networking
Dr Vahid Towhidlou- UAS Communications
Dr Ali Jihad - Wireless Antenna Design
Research/Project
Prof Saba Al-Rubaye research group focusing on modelling, simulation, and testing, and all the aspects which addresses the new generation of emerging technology and integration capabilities within the dynamics of Aviation, Autonomy and Connectivity including:
Communications & Networking
5G/6G Positioning and Handover
Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
Wireless Antenna design
Advanced Air Mobility
Digital twin technology
UAV/Aircraft Security and Operations.
Electrification & Zero Emission
Workshop
Speaker and panellist at IEEE ICC 2024, Denver, USA
Speaker and panellist at IEEE PIMRC 2023, Toronto, Canada - IEEE Future Networks Roadmap towards 6G
Chairing and organising a new workshop for 6G Networks at IEEE ICC 2020
DARTeC conference organization team and one of the Speakers for Future Connectivity Challenge Digital Aviation Conference
External Examiner
Examiner for PhDs in telecommunications institute, university of Aveiro, Portugal
Current activities
Project- Advanced Air Mobility Ecosystems- Phase III
Co-Investigator & Technical lead - Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Innovation UK- Future Flight Challenges
Total Project Funded - £9.5 million
Partners- Atkins, Vertical Aerospace, Virgin Atlantic, Heathrow, Skyports, NATS, Bristol Airport, Connected Places Catapult, Â鶹Éç
Shaping The Future of Advanced Air Mobility in the South West of England- For more info
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Project- Advanced Air Mobility- Phase II
(PREPARE FOR COMMERCIAL EVTOL AIRCRAFT SERVICES)
Co-Investigator & Technical lead- Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Innovation UK- Future Flight Challenges
Total Project Funded £2.5m
Partners- Atkins, Vertical Aerospace, Skyports, NATS, Connected Places Catapult, Â鶹Éç, Neuron
An industry consortium aiming to demonstrate air taxi service in the South West region of England in response to the UK government's Future of Flight Challenge. This project will 'significantly accelerate the introduction of AAM in the UK'.
Shaping The Future of Advanced Air Mobility in The South-west of England- For more info
Test Field Trial at Cranfield Airport - Video
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Project Rise
Principal Investigator & Technical lead- Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Innovation UK- Future Flight Challenges
Total Project Funded £ 500,000
Partners- Dronecloud, Sky-drones, Â鶹Éç and Skyports
The scheme project aims to integrate evolving Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM), the drone version of Air Traffic Control (ATM), with the control systems on-board drones to Unlock the future of drone operations through integration. Focusing on the approvals process and air traffic management (ATM) for flying within airspace controlled by an Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), integrating across a combined stack of independent software and hardware.
More info about Project Rise Website
Filed test trials at Cranfield Airport- Video
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Project - Unmanned Aircraft Systems Authentication System
Principal Investigator & Technical lead- Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Innovation UK- Future Flight Challenges
Total Project Funded £ 500,000
Partners- ANGOKA, Â鶹Éç and Connected Places Catapult
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Authentication System (UASAS) project brings together Cranfield, ANGOKA and Connected Places Catapult collaborators to create an authentication system that will provide a trusted identification service for drone usage. This system will protect communications from potentially devastating cyberattacks. Trusted identification will allow organisations to ensure that drones are flying in the right zones and without adverse effects to other parties, increasing overall confidence in drone technology.
Enabling Secure Authentication for Unmanned Aircraft Systems- Event Video
Cranfield Airport- UASAS- Test Field Demonstration - Video
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Project Smart Airport
Principal Investigator and Technical lead- Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Department for Transport ( DfT )
Total Project Funded £ 135,000
Partners- NCC-Group & Â鶹Éç
The main aim of this project is to build end to end ecosystem for Smart Airports based on the use of digital twin and intelligent systems such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors and devices configured for specific purposes in different areas in order to control, manage and plan their operations in a centralised digital environment.
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Project Digital Aviation Connectivity & Security
Principal Investigator and technical lead- Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Department for Transport ( DfT )
Total Project Funded £ 135,000
Partners- Thales & Â鶹Éç
The digital transformation envisaged by the Future Flight Challenge is redefining expectations around connectivity, security, communication system and control. Across civil and military air platforms, manned and unmanned, digital data drives everything - and the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of every mission depends on it.
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Inmarsat - Connectivity
Co-Investigator and technical lead- Prof Saba Al-Rubye
Sponsor- Inmarsat
Total Project Funded £ 100,000
Partners_ Inmarsat & Â鶹Éç
The aim is to create roadmap for future aviation connectivity
Cranfield- Inmarsat Roadmap --- Digital Aviation Roadmap
For more info download the report from the link below:
Digital Now: Why the future of aviation starts with connectivity - Inmarsat-Cranfield
Clients
Thales
Atkins
Inmarsat
Honeywell
Ankoga
DroneCloud
Sky-Drone
Skyports
NCC-Group
Satellite Applications Catapult
EPSRC
Innovation UK
Department for Transportation (DfT)