Project Grant 2549275

The National Science Foundation Division of Information and Intelligent Systems awarded $335,000 to The Regents of the University of California at Riverside on October 1, 2026, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) for collaborative research on autonomous aerial and ground vehicle coordination in urban delivery environments.

The project, titled VINES (Smart Collaborative Aerial Logistics Ecosystem), develops a vertically-integrated networked system that treats wireless networks as a shared computational brain enabling drones and self-driving vehicles to coordinate safely in densely populated areas. Rather than requiring each drone to operate autonomously, the system uses next-generation cellular networks and edge computing to create network-aware cooperative perception and multi-agent coordination. The research spans four synergistic thrusts: an autonomy engine with scalable coordination policies and failure anticipation; a physical layer foundation including three-dimensional radio frequency mapping and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces; an intelligent open radio access network with unmanned aerial vehicle resource management; and integration and validation through simulation and hardware testing.

UC Riverside serves as the prime recipient, with collaborative participation from the University at Buffalo and Waseda University. The award obligates $335,000 with performance at UC Riverside's Riverside, California location. The period of performance runs from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2029.