“You can’t have autonomy without connectivity.” That’s the contention of Alexander Wyglinski, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and an internationally recognized expert in wireless communications. One of Wyglinski’s interests is the wireless technology that will be needed to connect vehicles as they share the road. Wireless connections will enable them to exchange information about road conditions, traffic and so on, thus increasing their situational awareness well beyond the range the cameras and sensors that give autonomous vehicles a view of the environment around them. In Wyglinski’ s view, vehicle connectivity, which may involve cutting-edge technologies like cognitive radio, is an enabling technology for autonomous vehicles, as it will be essential to their safe operation.


Dr. Alexander Wyglinski, Professor

Dr. Alexander M. Wyglinski is internationally recognized as an expert in the field of wireless communications, cognitive radio, connected vehicles, software-defined radio, dynamic spectrum access, electromagnetic security, vehicular technology, wireless system optimization and adaptation, autonomous vehicles, and cyber-physical systems. Dr. Wyglinski is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Professor of Robotics Engineering (courtesy appointment) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA, as well as the Director of the Wireless Innovation Laboratory (WI Lab).  Learn more.