URBSENSE 2026

About

URBSENSE 2026 is an international workshop on urban intelligence and adaptive systems, in conjunction with the 23rd IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications (PerCom 2026), Pisa, Italy, 16-20 March, 2026.

PerCom is recognized as a CORE2023 A* ranked international conference in pervasive computing and communications.

URBSENSE is part of the NOUS EU Project, exploring cutting-edge solutions for safer, smarter, and more sustainable cities through digital twins, edge computing, AI, and IoT.

Scope and Motivation

URBSENSE investigates challenges in building intelligent, adaptive, and resilient urban environments. Topics include edge AI, federated learning, digital twins, optimization, and system-level co-design. The workshop bridges foundational technologies and real-world deployments to foster sustainable, smart, and responsive cities.

Key Technical Topics

• Edge AI architectures and adaptive middleware for low-latency sensing and decision support
• Federated and privacy-preserving learning on multi-source heterogeneous urban data
• Mathematical optimization for energy-aware mobility, resource scheduling, and resilient infrastructure
• Secure, interoperable data exchange via blockchain and urban data spaces
• Digital twin integration for predictive modeling and incident response
• System-level co-design for transportation, logistics, emergency services, and sustainability

Organizers

• Dr. Natalia Selini Hadjidimitriou (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy)
  Program Co-Chair
  Researcher in Computer Science at the Department of Engineering Sciences and Methods (DISMI), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Her research focuses on data-driven approaches and computational models for smart cities, urban mobility, and intelligent energy systems.
• Dr. Marcello Pietri (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy)
  Program Co-Chair
  Researcher in ICT at the Department of Engineering Sciences and Methods (DISMI), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His work addresses networked systems, edge/cloud computing, and IoT platforms with applications to intelligent mobility, urban safety, and 5G-enabled services for VRUs.
• Dr. Angelo Furno (ENTPE-Université Gustave Eiffel, France)
  Technical Program Chair
  HDR Researcher at LICIT-ECO7. His research includes machine learning and big data for transportation and urban mobility. He coordinates the ANR JCJC PROMENADE project on data-centric mobility analytics.
• Prof. Thorsten Koch (TU Berlin and ZIB, Germany)
  General Chair
  Full Professor of Mathematics and Optimization. He leads research at TU Berlin and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) on discrete optimization, infrastructure planning, and algorithmic intelligence. He is the creator of the SCIP solver and PI of several national and European projects.

Supporting Roles

• Dr. Panagiotis Dimitrakis (Institute of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, NCSR “Demokritos”, Greece)
  Publicity Chair
  Senior researcher with expertise in data engineering, edge intelligence, and federated learning for smart environments. He coordinates national and EU projects on trustworthy AI and urban data ecosystems.

Program Committee (Preliminary)

• Dr. Panagiotis Moraitis – Netcompany-Intrasoft
• Dr. Rosaria Rossini – Eclipse Foundation Europe GmbH
• Prof. Hervé Rivano, INRIA, INSA-Lyon
• Prof. Marco Mamei - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
• Dr. Razvan Stanica, INRIA, INSA-Lyon
• Prof. Francesco VITI, Univesity of Luxembourg
• Prof. Marco Picone - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
• Dr. Stefania Rubrichi - Researcher - Orange Labs
• Dr. Diletta Chiaro - Latitudo 40
• Dr. Matteo Martinelli - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
• Dr. Nour-Eddin El Faouzi - University Gustave Eiffel

Important Dates

Call for Papers

• Edge AI architectures and adaptive middleware for low-latency sensing and decision support
• Federated and privacy-preserving learning on multi-source heterogeneous urban data
• Mathematical optimization for energy-aware mobility, resource scheduling, and resilient infrastructure
• Secure, interoperable data exchange via blockchain and urban data spaces
• Digital twin integration for predictive modeling and incident response
• System-level co-design for transportation, logistics, emergency services, and sustainability

Submission and Format

URBSENSE 2026 submissions will follow IEEE PerCom guidelines.

All papers must be: at most 6 pages with the option of 1 additional page (maximum 7 pages total) of technical content,typeset in double-column IEEE format using 10pt fonts on US letter paper, with all fonts embedded. As for the main conference, in URBSENSE the peer-review process will be single-blind. Submissions must be made via EDAS. The IEEE LaTeX and Microsoft Word templates, as well as related information, can be found on the IEEE Computer Society website.

URBSENSE will be held in conjunction with IEEE PerCom 2026. All accepted papers will be included in the Percom workshops proceedings and included and indexed in the IEEEXplo re digital library. At least one author will be required to have a full registration at the PerCom conference and present the paper during the workshop (either remotely or in location).

Journal Extension Opportunity

The best and tematically relevant papers presented at the URBSENSE 2026 workshop, held in conjunction with IEEE PerCom 2026, will be invited to submit extended versions to a Special Issue of Future Generation Computer Systems (FGCS), Elsevier (Q1, IF > 7), subject to standard peer-review.

Registration

Papers without a valid full registration or that are not presented in-person will be excluded from the proceedings: https://percom.org/registration-instructions/

Contact & Website

E-mail: see Organizers

Website: https://www.urbsense.org - 2026 [@/AT] urbsense [./DOT] org

Also visit: https://nous-project.eu