publications

Unpublished

1. AI in Flight: Edge Intelligence for UAV-Assisted IoRT for Remote Environments

   Talip Tolga Sari, Atakan Aral, and Gökhan Seçinti

   2025

   Submitted for Journal Publication
2. Distributed Split Computing Using Diffusive Metrics for UAV Swarms

   Talip Tolga Sari, Gökhan Seçinti, and Angelo Trotta

   2025

   Submitted for Journal Publication
3. HAP Networks for the Future: Applications in Sensing, Computing, and Communication

   Sultan Çoğay , T.Tolga Sari, Muhammad Nadeem Ali, and 2 more authors

   2025

   Submitted for Journal Publication
4. A Semantic Coding Scheme for Robust Image Transmission over Noisy Channel

   Alp Seyhun Canoglu, Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   2025

   accepted and to presented in IEEE CCNC 2026
5. Demo: IMU-Assisted Flight-Dynamics-Aware AMC for UAVs over SDR-OFDM Testbed

   Busra Bayram, Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   2025

   accepted and to presented in IEEE CCNC 2026
6. Efficient UWB Localization with Slotted TWR and Relay-Based TDoA: Experimental Validationl

   Talha Duman, Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   2026

   accepted and to presented in IEEE CCNC 2026
7. Feedback by Relevance: Feature-Aware ARQ for Visual Semantics

   Amr Nael Zuhdi Tawee, Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   2025

   accepted and to presented in IEEE GLOBECOM 2025
8. Distributed SDN-Enabled Self-Healing UAV Swarms for Adaptive Network Control

   Burak Toprak, Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   2025

   to appear in IEEE 36th Annual International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC) 2025 Proceedings

Conference Articles

1. Waves of Imagination: Unconditional Spectrogram Generation Using Diffusion Architectures

   Rahul Vankuri, Shafi Ullah Khan, Talip Tolga Sari, and 3 more authors

   In MILCOM 2025 Track 5 - Machine Learning for Communications and Networking (MILCOM 2025 Track 5), Oct 2025

   Abs

   The growing demand for effective spectrum management and interference mitigation in shared bands, such as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), requires robust radar detection algorithms sometimes to protect the military transmission from interference due to commercial wireless trans- mission. These algorithms, in turn, depend on large, diverse, and carefully labeled spectrogram datasets. However, collecting and annotating real-world radio frequency (RF) spectrogram data remains a significant challenge, as radar signals are rare, and their occurrences are infrequent. This challenge makes the creation of balanced datasets difficult, limiting the performance and generalizability of AI models in this domain. To address this critical issue, we propose a diffusion-based generative model for synthesizing realistic and diverse spectrograms of five distinct categories that integrate LTE, 5G, and radar signals within the CBRS band. We conduct a structural and statistical fidelity analysis of the generated spectrograms using widely accepted evaluation metrics Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM) and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), to quantify their divergence from the training dataset. Furthermore, we demonstrate that pre-training on the generated spectrograms significantly improves training efficiency on a real-world radar detection task by enabling 51.5% faster convergence.

2. Space-Air-Ground Network for Direct-to-Cell Communication

   Abdullah Al Noman, Talip Tolga Sari, Sunday Amatare, and 2 more authors

   In MILCOM 2025 Track 4 - Integrated Network Architecture and Systems-of-Systems (MILCOM 2025 Track 4), Oct 2025

   Abs

   The growing demand for ubiquitous and resilient wireless connectivity, particularly in remote or disaster-stricken areas, highlights the limitations of traditional Direct-to-Cell (D2C) communication systems, which suffer from capacity bottlenecks, high propagation losses, and unreliable coverage. These challenges are critical barriers to achieving seamless global communication and supporting applications such as emergency response, smart infrastructure, and industrial automation, where robust connectivity directly impacts safety, operational efficiency, and societal resilience. To this end, we propose a UAV-enabled Space-Air-Ground Integrated Network (SAGIN) framework, in which UAVs operate as adaptive relays between low-earth-orbit satellites and user terminals. Our system leverages altitude optimized UAV placement and environment-aware channel modeling, incorporating realistic ionospheric, atmospheric, multipath, and fading effects to dynamically mitigate propagation losses and optimize link reliability. We validate our approach using the NVIDIA Sionna simulator by conducting experiments across diverse environments and disaster-response scenarios. Our results demonstrate that the proposed SAGIN framework achieves a 91.7% improvement in downlink throughput compared to baseline D2C model, with a graceful degradation of 12ms end-to-end latency.

3. Semantic-Driven Intelligent Name Distribution & Retrieval for Named Data Networking

   Ghulam Musa Raza, Talip Tolga Sarı, Gokhan Secinti, and 3 more authors

   In 2025 International Conference on Smart Applications, Communications and Networking (SmartNets), Oct 2025

   DOI
4. Enhanced Out of Boundary UWB Based Localization for Industrial Digital Twins

   Lütfü Sirac Küçükarabacıoğlu, Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   In 2025 IEEE International Conference on Communications Workshops (ICC Workshops), Oct 2025

   DOI
5. Fire Twin: Digital Twin-assisted UAV Surveillance for Efficient Forest Fire Management

   Sultan Çoğay, and Gokhan Secinti

   In 2025 IEEE International Conference on Communications Workshops (ICC Workshops), Oct 2025

   DOI
6. Poster: Lagrange-Based Optimized Forwarding Strategy for Information-Centric Vehicular Networks

   Muhammad Nadeem Ali, Muhammad Imran, Ihsan Ullah, and 2 more authors

   In 2024 IEEE/ACM Symposium on Edge Computing (SEC), Oct 2024

   DOI
7. Decentralized and Network-Aware UAV Service Deployment for Dependency-Driven Applications

   Talip Tolga Sarı, Christian Quadri, Gökhan Seçinti, and 1 more author

   In 2025 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), Oct 2025

   DOI
8. From Theory to Practice: A Testbed for DL-Based Semantic Communication Architecture

   Esin Ece Aydın, Emre Çetin , T. Tolga Sarı, and 1 more author

   In 2025 IEEE 22nd Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC), Oct 2025

   DOI
9. ML-Assisted Dynamic Multi-Path Routing for Enhanced QoS

   Sultan Çoğay, Mertkan Akkoç, and Gokhan Secinti

   In 2024 IEEE 29th International Workshop on Computer Aided Modeling and Design of Communication Links and Networks (CAMAD), Oct 2024

   DOI
10. A Digital Twin Powered Aerial Link Orchestration using SDRs

    Büşra Bayram, and Gökhan Seçinti

    In 2024 IEEE 10th World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), Oct 2024

    DOI
11. Monodepth-Based Object Detection and Depth Sensing for Vehicle Vision Systems

    Emre Çetin , T. Tolga Sari, Mert Assoy, and 1 more author

    In 2024 IEEE 10th World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), Oct 2024

    DOI
12. Poster: Lagrange-Based Optimized Forwarding Strategy for Information-Centric Vehicular Networks

    Muhammad Nadeem Ali, Muhammad Imran, Ihsan Ullah, and 2 more authors

    In 2024 IEEE/ACM Symposium on Edge Computing (SEC), Oct 2024

    DOI
13. Beam Alignment for IEEE 802.11be Powered by Task Oriented Indoor UWB Localization

    Semih Serhat Karakaya, Talip Tolga Sarı, Elif Ak, and 2 more authors

    In 2024 IEEE 35th International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), Oct 2024

    DOI
14. Poster: Load and Bandwidth aware Forwarding in Information-Centric Networks

    Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Nadeem Ali, Byung-Seo Kim, and 1 more author

    In Proceedings of the 22nd Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications and Services, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, Oct 2024

    Abs DOI

    Real-time healthcare applications demand stringent communication resources to meet the QoS requirements. To meet the application resource demands, this poster proposes a Load and Bandwidth aware Forwarding strategy (LBF-ICN) in Information-Centric Networks (ICN). The LBF-ICN considers router interfaces’ pending entries and available bandwidth resources in order to select the next hop for interest forwarding. The LBF-ICN strategy aims to distribute the network load along with bandwidth allocation in interest forwarding.

15. Collaborative Smart Environmental Monitoring Using Flying Edge Intelligence

    T. Tolga Sari, Sabtain Ahmad, Atakan Aral, and 1 more author

    In GLOBECOM 2023 - 2023 IEEE Global Communications Conference, Oct 2023

    DOI
16. Securing Southbound Interface in SDNs: Utilizing Support Vector Machines for OpenFlow Packet Classification

    Ali Gökhan Avran, Elif Ak, Kübra Duran, and 2 more authors

    In 2023 IEEE 28th International Workshop on Computer Aided Modeling and Design of Communication Links and Networks (CAMAD), Oct 2023

    DOI
17. Utilizing LoRa for Control Link in Software-defined Aerial Networks: Analysis and Implementation

    Zeynep Betül Arslanbenzer, Büşra Bayram, Talip Tolga Sarı, and 1 more author

    In 2023 IEEE 28th International Workshop on Computer Aided Modeling and Design of Communication Links and Networks (CAMAD), Oct 2023

    DOI
18. Demo: Ultra-Wideband-Assisted Blind Spot Detection System

    Talip Tolga Sari, Sultan Cogay, Suleyman Turan, and 2 more authors

    In 2023 IEEE Vehicular Networking Conference (VNC), Oct 2023

    DOI
19. Utilizing Smartphones for Blind Spot Detection

    Talip Talga Sarı, Mert Kadir Assoy, and Gökhan secinti

    In 2023 IEEE 20th Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC), Oct 2023

    DOI
20. Enabling Self-Organizing TDMA Scheduling for Aerial Swarms

    E.E. Aydın, O. Kara, F. Cakir, and 3 more authors

    In Proceedings of the Eighth Workshop on Micro Aerial Vehicle Networks, Systems, and Applications, Portland, OR, USA, Oct 2022

    Abs DOI

    With the proliferation of affordable VTOL drones, application domain of aerial swarms expands everyday, spanning from public drone art to offensive military operations. Orchestrating these systems towards a successful mission, especially in contested environments, requires strict synchronization and reliable communication among network entities. Although using a ground controller with a long range link provides a cost-effective solution, it is extremely vulnerable to single-point of failure and/or jamming attacks. Thus, in contested environments, adapting ad-hoc policies is one of the most promising approaches, mitigating these vulnerabilities. However, existing ad-hoc approaches fail to sustain multi-hop connections, suffering from frequent topology changes and intermittent links due to dynamic environment. In this paper, we propose self-organizing TDMA (STDMA) protocol for aerial swarms in order to ensure reliable communication through efficient network management. We also partially implement our protocol on a small-scale test-bed and show that how drones are able to self-configure upon joining the network without any prior information. Our proposed STDMA protocol improves the overall channel utilization up to 55 percent with less control traffic overhead compared to the existing studies.

21. Intelligent Routing Framework Based on D* Lite for Resilient Aerial Networks

    Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Secinti

    In 2022, 6th IEEE International Workshop on Wireless Communications and Networking in Extreme Environments (WCNEE), Oct 2022
22. CentAir: Centrality Based Cross Layer Routing for Software-Defined Aerial Networks

    Talip Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Secinti

    In 2022 IEEE 19th Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC), Oct 2022
23. EmergencyBlock: A Blockchain-based Public Emergency Alert System

    Zeynep Dündar, Oğuzhan Kocatürk, and Gökhan Secinti

    In 2022 IEEE 19th Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC), Oct 2022
24. Network-Aware AutoML Framework for Software-Defined Sensor Networks

    Emre Horsanali, Yagmur Yigit, Gokhan Secinti, and 2 more authors

    In 2021 17th International Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS), Oct 2021

    DOI
25. SoNaR: Software-defined Network and Radio Framework for FANETs

    Sultan Çoğay , T. Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan secinti

    In 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks (DySPAN), Oct 2021

    DOI
26. GuideSwarm: A Drone Network Design to Assist Visually-impaired People

    G. Sakarya, T.T. Sari, and G. Secinti

    In EAI GOODTECHS 2021 - 7th EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, Oct 2021
27. Network-Aware AutoML Framework for Software-Defined Sensor Networks

    E. Horasanli, Y. Yigit, A. Karamanoglu, and 2 more authors

    In 5th IEEE International Workshop on Wireless Communications and Networking in Extreme Environments , IEEE WCNEE 2021 at IEEE DCOSS, Oct 2021
28. CLAN: A Robust Control Link Design for Aerial Mesh Networks in Contested Environments

    F.R. Kilic, M.O. Ozdogan, G. Secinti, and 1 more author

    In 7th International Conference on Industrial Networks and Intelligent Systems, INISCOM,, Oct 2021
29. AirBeam: Experimental Demonstration of Distributed Beamforming by a Swarm of UAVs

    S. Mohanti, C. Bocanegra, J. Meyer, and 4 more authors

    In 2019 IEEE 16th International Conference on Mobile Ad Hoc and Sensor Systems (MASS), Oct 2019

    DOI
30. Chain RTS/CTS Scheme for Aerial Multihop Communications

    T.T. Sari, and G. Secinti

    In 2021 IEEE 18th Annual Consumer Communications Networking Conference (CCNC), Oct 2021

    DOI
31. Scalability analysis and flow admission control in mininet-based SDN environment

    M. Erel, E. Teoman, Y. Özçevik, and 2 more authors

    In 2015 IEEE Conference on Network Function Virtualization and Software Defined Network (NFV-SDN), Nov 2015

    DOI
32. XCon: Cross layer topology controller for energy efficient LTE networks

    G. Secinti, M. Erel, and B. Canberk

    In 2015 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops (INFOCOM WKSHPS), Apr 2015

    DOI
33. Virtual laxity driven scheduling algorithm for multiprocessor real-time systems

    G. Secinti, and D. T. Altılar

    In The 5th International Conference on Communications, Computers and Applications (MIC-CCA2012), Oct 2012

    DOI
34. Software defined wireless network testbed using Raspberry Pi of switches with routing add-on

    M. Ariman, G. Secinti, M. Erel, and 1 more author

    In 2015 IEEE Conference on Network Function Virtualization and Software Defined Network (NFV-SDN), Nov 2015

    DOI
35. Resilient end-to-end connectivity for software defined unmanned aerial vehicular networks

    G. Secinti, P. B. Darian, B. Canberk, and 1 more author

    In 2017 IEEE 28th Annual International Symposium on Personal, Indoor, and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), Oct 2017

    DOI
36. Dynamic power adjustment and resource allocation framework for LTE networks

    G. Secinti, M. E. Özçevik, K. R. Chowdhury, and 1 more author

    In 2016 IEEE 21st International Workshop on Computer Aided Modelling and Design of Communication Links and Networks (CAMAD), Oct 2016

    DOI
37. A spatial optimization based adaptive coverage model for green self-organizing networks

    G. Secinti, and B. Canberk

    In 2014 IEEE 11th Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC), Jan 2014

    DOI

Journal Articles

1. UWB Assisted Digital Twin for Enhanced Spatial Reuse in Wi-Fi 7

   T. Tolga Sari, Subhramoy Mohanti, and Gokhan Secinti

   IEEE Communications Magazine, Jan 2025

   DOI
2. Semantic Flow Control for Task-Oriented Position Tracking

   T. Tolga Sari, Büşra Bayram, Byung-Seo Kim, and 1 more author

   IEEE Access, Jan 2025

   DOI
3. Network Optimizing Software Solution for Multiplayer Gaming

   Arda Deniz Çelik, and Gökhan Seçinti

   ITU Journal of Wireless Communications and Cybersecurity, Jan 2024

   Abs

   In the digital entertainment landscape, multiplayer online games have gained immense popularity, attracting millions globally. This paper focuses on improving gaming performance by addressing two major challenges: latency and packet loss. Utilizing the Omnet++ application with the INET framework, we propose innovative network solutions to enhance the overall gaming experience. Over the past decade, multiplayer games have rapidly gained popularity due to technological advancements. As living costs rise, these games have become an economical and accessible form of entertainment, especially among the youth. The growing importance of a stable, high-quality internet connection in gaming has become crucial. Game developers and online gaming platforms also stand to gain from our network optimization solutions. Implementing these advancements can elevate service quality, leading to increased user satisfaction, positive reviews, and a stronger reputation in the gaming community. Additionally, this paper explores using real-world gaming data to simulate and test network strategies in Omnet++, offering practical insights for enhancing real-time online gaming experiences.

4. Yazılım-tanımlı İHA Ağları için Deney Ortamı Tasarımı

   Gökhan Seçinti

   Bilgisayar Bilimleri ve Mühendisliği Dergisi, Jan 2024

   Abs DOI

   İnsansız Hava Araçları (İHA) çeviklikleri ve esnek kişiselleştirilme seçenekleri ile geniş bir yelpazedeki problemlerin çözümlerinde kolay ve yaygın şekilde kullanılmaktadırlar. Fakat, bu çözümleri geliştirirken ve uygularken uygulama ortamının gerektirdiği birden fazla ve farklı telsiz haberleşme yöntemleri, benzer şekilde çeşitlilik gösteren hesaplama birimlerinin birbirleri ile uyum içerisinde işlemesi zorlu bir engel teşkil etmektedir. Bununla birlikte uçuş denetçisinin de İHA’ların görev sahasına uygun bir şekilde biçimlendirilmesi ve geliştirilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmada İHA’lar için esnek deney ortamı tanıtılmakta ve kurulum ve yürütülme basamakları anlatılmaktadır. Önerilen deney ortamı haberleşme için Wi-Fi, LoRa ve Yazılım-tanımlı Radyo erişim yöntemlerini desteklemekte ve ek olarak bu haberleşme teknolojilerini ağ katmanı seviyesinde, Yazılım-tanımlı Ağ yaklaşımı kullanılarak yatay düzlemde birleştirmekte ve karmaşık yönlendirme algoritmalarının kolayca yürütülmesine olanak sağlamaktadır. Dolayısı ile önerilen deney ortamı Fiziksel, Veri Bağlantı ve Ağ katmanlarının esnek şekilde değiştirilmesine ve bu katmanları kapsayan çözüm veya çözümlerin kolaylıkla geliştirilmesine olanak sağlamaktadır. Çalışmada son olarak bu önerilen deney ortamı kullanarak elde edilen deney detayları ve ilgili sonuçları paylaşılmaktadır.

5. Using Centrality Based Topology Control for FANET Survivability Against Jamming

   T. Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Seçinti

   Computer Networks, Jan 2024

   Abs DOI

   Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) provide connectivity in extreme environments such as battle zones and disaster areas. Since these networks operate without infrastructure, they must calculate routes on the fly. Unfortunately, as each e2e link selfishly chooses the shortest path for its flow, they also tend to overwhelm geographically central nodes, making these nodes the bottleneck for all flows. On top of this, these networks are quite sensitive to jamming attacks, which can shut down the network’s operation entirely. In this paper, we extend our previous work CentAir with an additional operation state that enables rapid communication by reducing interframe spaces of nodes according to their eigenvector centrality measure. Following this, we propose an intelligent heuristic to enable hybrid operation among these states. This hybrid operation state improves e2e latency by modifying interframe spacing regarding the node’s eigenvector centrality. Our exhaustive simulation results show that Hybrid CentAir achieves an 18.1 percent more throughput, a 21.1 percent lower latency while being 17.8 percent more energy efficient compared to multi-channel OLSR. Additionally, our protocol shows an 11.5 percent better packet delivery ratio against randomly placed deceptive jammers that continuously transmit false packets in the area.

6. Distributed TDMA Scheduling for Autonomous Aerial Swarms: A Self-Organizing Approach

   Esin Ece Aydin, Alican Akcasoy, Furkan Cakir, and 3 more authors

   IEEE Access, Jan 2024

   DOI
7. Phoenix: Aerial Monitoring for Fighting Wildfires

   Sultan Çoğay, and Gökhan Secinti

   Drones, Jan 2023

   Abs DOI

   Wildfires have become a global problem in recent years. Authorities are looking for various technological and auxiliary solutions to deal with this environmental crisis. One of the advances being utilized in the forest fire field and its aftermath is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs play a fundamental role in wildfire-fighting solutions due to their ease of use and high accessibility. However, the energy constraints of a single UAV and the fire areas make monitoring challenging. Therefore, to address these issues, we propose a monitoring application called Phoenix. We make three main contributions with the Phoenix application. Firstly, we implement a monitoring application consisting of path planning, graph engine, and modified TSP algorithms to help the UAV’s fire tracking and shorten its route. Secondly, we develop a network architecture to transfer the tracking data we obtained to provide information to the fire brigade and other firefighting units. Thirdly, we provide energy optimization for a single UAV mission. The first part of the application uses the elliptical fire model and simulation. In addition, Phoenix utilizes fuel moisture content (fmc) data of the fire zone to analyze the critical fire regions. The simulation results show that our Phoenix application reduces energy consumption by 38 % and enhances coverage by up to 51%.

8. Energy-efficient RL-based aerial network deployment testbed for disaster areas

   Mehmet Ariman, Mertkan Akkoç, Talip Tolga Sari, and 3 more authors

   Journal of Communications and Networks, Jan 2023

   DOI
9. Chain RTS/CTS scheme with Opportunistic Channel Allocation

   T Tolga Sarı, and Gökhan Secinti

   Elsevier Computer Networks, Jan 2021
10. WiFED Mobile: WiFi Friendly Energy Delivery With Mobile Distributed Beamforming

    S. Mohanti, E. Bozkaya, M. Y. Naderi, and 3 more authors

    IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Jan 2021

    DOI
11. FOCUS: Fog Computing in UAS Software-Defined Mesh Networks

    G. Secinti, A. Trotta, S. Mohanti, and 2 more authors

    IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Jan 2020

    DOI
12. SDNs in the Sky: Robust End-to-End Connectivity for Aerial Vehicular Networks

    G. Secinti, P. B. Darian, B. Canberk, and 1 more author

    IEEE Communications Magazine, Jan 2018

    DOI
13. QoS-Aware Power Management in LTE-A Networks Under Heterogeneous Traffics

    M. E. Özçevik, G. Secinti, and B. Canberk

    IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Jan 2018

    DOI
14. Software Defined Architecture for VANET: A Testbed Implementation with Wireless Access Management

    G. Secinti, B. Canberk , T. Q. Duong, and 1 more author

    IEEE Communications Magazine, Jul 2017

    DOI