In these FCCN 2026 ConferenceWe will be pleased to have the following as keynote speakers: Rui Lopes Campos, Head of the Wireless Networks Area, Coordinator of the Telecommunications and Multimedia Center, Senior Researcher at INESC TEC and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, and of Antonio Murta, Founder, Managing Partner & CEO of Pathena.
This first interview, shared below, has as its purpose... The primary objective is to frame and highlight Rui Campos' participation in this edition., showcasing his academic and scientific background, as well as the experience he has developed in the areas of communication and telecommunications networks, with a special focus on wireless networks and advanced communication systems.
His presentation at the FCCN 2026 Conference is scheduled for the day... May 6thamong the 10:05 AM and 10:30 AM, under the theme "Autonomous mobile networks in extreme environments: rethinking connectivity beyond traditional infrastructures", in which it will explore the challenges of connectivity in demanding environments and the evolution of networks beyond conventional infrastructures.
Later, an interview with another keynote speaker, António Murta, will also be shared.
What motivated you to accept the invitation to be the keynote speaker at the FCCN 2026 Conference?
What motivated me most to accept the invitation was the opportunity to share the research work we have been developing at UP and INESC TEC over the last decade in the area of wireless networks for extreme environments. In particular, we have explored the use of robotic platforms (e.g., drones) to create dynamic, repositionable communication networks with a high degree of autonomy.
This is a topic of growing relevance, both from the perspective of maritime exploration, both on the surface and underwater, and in ensuring the resilience of communications in adverse scenarios. Recent events, such as the blackout of April 2025 or the "train" of storms that affected Portugal in early 2026, clearly highlight the need for more flexible, agile, and robust solutions. Therefore, being able to bring this reflection to the FCCN Conference was a decisive factor in accepting this invitation.
What relevance do you attribute to this event, particularly for the academic and scientific community of Porto?
The FCCN Conferences are highly relevant, especially as they provide a meeting point between academia, digital infrastructure operators, public administration, and industry. Within the context of Porto and the surrounding region, and its academic and scientific community, this event plays a particularly important role in promoting knowledge sharing and building bridges between research, teaching, and the practical application of knowledge.
From the perspective of those simultaneously involved in research and teaching, the FCCN Conference allows students and researchers to face real-world challenges related to the operation of large-scale networks, cybersecurity, advanced computing, and the resilience of digital infrastructures. This is essential for aligning basic and advanced training with the needs and challenges of the ecosystem, which can also fuel new research projects and initiatives.
On the other hand, given that Porto is an increasingly relevant scientific and technological hub from a national and international perspective, events like this reinforce its centrality, stimulating multidisciplinary and interinstitutional collaborations, and contributing to establishing the region as a [missing word - likely "center" or "regional hub"]. hub Innovation in the area of digital networks and services.
What kind of reflection or debate do you hope to promote among the audience with your intervention?
With my presentation, I hope above all to stimulate reflection on new paradigms of connectivity in extreme environments, anchored in the research work that we have been developing over the last decade at UP and INESC TEC.
Specifically, I intend to discuss the concept of autonomous mobile networks supported by robotic platforms, exploring their capacity for dynamic adaptation to context and real-time reconfiguration. This work has been developed from an interdisciplinary perspective, crossing the domains of wireless communications, robotics, and artificial intelligence, with the aim of creating systems capable of operating autonomously in scenarios where communications infrastructure is non-existent or insufficient, for example, at sea, in a forest fire scenario, or after a storm.
One of the central themes of this reflection will also be the emerging role of semantic communication, as an approach that allows us to rethink how information is transmitted and processed in communication networks, prioritizing the meaning and usefulness of information over traditional metrics focused on throughput or reliability. bit by bit.
I also hope to contribute to a debate on the scientific opportunities that emerge from this convergence between networks, autonomous systems and intelligent information processing, and on how this line of research can pave the way for new generations of more efficient, resilient and mission-oriented communication systems.
Your presentation proposes a rethinking of connectivity beyond traditional infrastructures — what perspectives might you share on this topic?
In my presentation, I will share the perspective that the connectivity of the future cannot be thought of solely as an incremental extension of current infrastructures, but rather as a more dynamic, distributed, and mission-oriented system.
Based on the work we have been developing, I will discuss how autonomous mobile networks, supported by aerial and maritime platforms, can introduce a new degree of flexibility, allowing the creation and adaptation of communications infrastructures.on-demand...depending on the specific needs of each scenario. This is particularly relevant in extreme environments where fixed infrastructure is non-existent, insufficient, or vulnerable.
I will also share the perspective that this rethinking of connectivity involves integrating intelligence into the network itself, both at the level of autonomous decision-making and at the level of new paradigms such as semantic communications, which allow aligning network operation with application objectives and not just with traditional metrics.
Taken together, these approaches point to a vision of more adaptive networks, sensitive to context and capable of operating under conditions of high uncertainty, opening up new possibilities for applications in domains such as the marine environment, remote monitoring or disaster response.
