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AgWireless’26: Accelerating Concerted 6G, AgTech & Multi-Use Innovation!

AgWireless’26: Accelerating Concerted 6G, AgTech & Multi-Use Innovation!

AgWireless’26
August 29 – September 3, 2026 (NSF AgRuralG Workshop: 08/31 – 09/01)
Ames, Iowa

6G is expected to “connect the unconnected” while advancing service frontiers such as integrated AI and communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), and hyper-reliable, low-latency communications (HRLLC). Pioneering use cases such as collaborative aerial and ground vehicles for precision AI weed control, agriculture is an ideal industry vertical for piloting 6G technologies towards their real-world adoption. With worldwide 6G efforts transitioning from requirement investigation to solution development, 2026 is a critical year to solidify the strategy and to build the ecosystem partnership for addressing the last-acre connectivity challenge of agriculture while advancing 6G and its multi-use applications in defense, public safety, transportation and so on!

With the world’s premiere AgTech event Farm Progress Show coming to its coverage area during September 1-3, 2026 and with its first-of-its-kind platforms supporting at-scale, high-capacity wireless x-haul, heterogeneous wireless access, and LEO satellite communications, ARA serves as a living lab for fostering transformative collaboration across wireless and application ecosystems, including academia, industry, government, and communities. Building on the success of prior ARA community events such as AraFest’24, the mission of AgWireless’26 is to celebrate progress across wireless, AgTech and other application domains (e.g., defense, public safety, and transportation), to strengthen collaborative communities and scaffolding, and to ignite wireless, AgTech and multi-use innovation initiatives.


(Note: the specific program is in development, and the timeline may be subject to refinement; all times are in US Central Time.)


August 29 – 30, 2026: ARA User Program (community highlights, training, collaboration & competition events)
Location: ISU Student Innovation Center (SICTR)

August 31, 2026: NSF AgRuralG Workshop: Ag-Inspired NextG Research, Innovation and Partnerships for Rural Regions and Beyond – Day 1
Location: Iowa State University Alumni Center

8:00 – 8:30 am: Registration & Breakfast

8:30 – 8:50 am: Welcome Remarks

  • Jason Keith, Provost & Senior Vice President, Iowa State University
  • Erwin Gianchandani, Assistant Director, Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), National Science Foundation (NSF)

8:50 – 9:00 am: Program Overview

9 – 9:45 am: Keynote: Agricultural Innovation with Impact

9:45 – 10:30 am: Keynote: Global Telecom Leadership Through NextG Technology Innovation

  • Sudharman Jayaweera, Program Director (Emerging Technologies), Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), National Science Foundation (NSF)

10:30 – 10:45 am: Break

10:45 – 12:00 pm: Government Panel on Cross-TRL and Cross-Sector Collaboration in Ag-Inspired, Rural-Focused NextG Research, Innovation and Partnerships

  • Moderator: Jim Kurose, Distinguished University Professor (Information and Computer Sciences), University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Member, National Academy of Engineering; former Assistant Director (CISE) at NSF, former Assistant Director (AI) at White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
  • Deep Medhi, Program Director (Networking Technology and Systems), Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Rodney Murphy, Senior Spectrum Management Program Analyst/Counter-UAS Lead, USDOT Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (USDOT OST-R)
  • Steven J. Thomson, National Program Leader, Division of Agricultural Systems, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
  • Amanda Toman, Director (Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

12:00 – 1:00 pm: Lunch
12:30 – 1:00 pm: Lunch Keynote: Beyond the Tower – Satellite-based Communications in Rural America

  • Dennis Roberson, President & CEO, Roberson and Associates LLC; Chair of the Board, Marconi Society; Former Chairman of FCC Technological Advisory Council; Former CTO of Motorola

1:00 – 2:15 pm: Industry & Academic Panel on Cross-TRL and Cross-Sector Collaboration in Ag-Inspired, Rural-Focused NextG Research, Innovation and Partnerships

  • Moderator: Larry Peterson, Chair of Technical Steering Team, Aether, a project of Linux Foundation; Robert E. Kahn Emeritus Professor of Computer Science & Senior Research Scholar, Princeton University; Member, National Academy of Engineering
  • K. Venkatesh Prasad, Research Affiliate, MIT Sloan School of Management; Retired Senior Vice President of Research & Chief Innovation Officer, Center for Automotive Research (CAR); Retired Sr. Technical Leader & Technology Advisory Board Member, Ford Motor Company
  • Dennis Roberson, President & CEO, Roberson and Associates LLC; Chair of the Board, Marconi Society; Former Chairman of FCC Technological Advisory Council; Former Co-Director of Wireless Networks and Communications Research Center and Vice Provost for Research at Illinois Institute of Technology; Former CTO of Motorola
  • Ness Shroff, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Networking and Communications, Ohio State University; Principal Investigator and Institute Director of the NSF AI Institute on Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence
  • Asheesh Singh, George F. Sprague Chair Professor (Agronomy), Associate Dean of Research and Discovery (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), Iowa State University
  • Dimitris Zermas, Director (Machine Learning), Sentera (a John Deere Company)

2:15 – 2:30 pm: Breakout Working Session Instructions

2:30 – 3:30 pm: Parallel Breakout Working Sessions

  • Breakout 1 (Ag-Inspired, Rural-Focused NextG): High-Priority Rural-Focused NextG Initiatives for Agriculture and Synergistic Verticals, with a Special Focus on Collaborations across NextG and Industry Verticals and between Academia and Industry; co-chaired by
    • Shaddi Hasan, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
    • Cong Shen, Associate Professor (ECE), University of Virginia; Deputy Director (Collaboration), Spectrum X
  • Breakout 2 (NextG-based Agriculture & Synergistic Verticals): High-Priority AgTech and Synergistic Industry Vertical Initiatives, with a Special Focus on Collaborations across Industry Verticals and NextG and between Academia and Industry; co-chaired by
  • Breakout 3 (AgRuralG Government Programs & Support): Roles of Government Agencies as well as Required Funding Programs and Government Support in Accelerating Concerted NextG, AgTech and Multi-Use Innovation; co-chaired by
  • Breakout 4 (AgRuralG Platforms & Mechanisms): Research and Innovation Platforms as well as Partnership Mechanisms Required to Accelerate Concerted NextG, AgTech and Multi-Use Innovation; co-chaired by

3:30 – 4:00 pm: Breakout Reports

4:00 – 4:15 pm: Break

4:15 – 5:15 pm: Plenary Demos 

5:15 – 6:45 pm: Field Trip to ARA and AI-AgARENA sites at ISU Ag Engineering & Agronomy Research Farm

7:00 – 9:00 pm: Reception with Posters, Demos and Follow-Up Breakout Discussions

 

 

September 1, 2026: NSF AgRuralG Workshop: Ag-Inspired NextG Research, Innovation and Partnerships for Rural Regions and Beyond – Day 2
Location: Iowa State University Alumni Center & Farm Progress Show

8:00 – 8:30 am: Registration & Breakfast

8:30 – 9:15 am: Keynote: From Connectivity to Intelligence: How 6G Enables Autonomous Agriculture and Physical AI

9:15 – 9:30 am: Day 2 Breakout Plan

9:30 – 11:00 am: Parallel Breakout Working Sessions

11:00 – 11:15 am: Break

11:15 – 12:15 pm: Breakout Report & Visioning Discussion

12:15 – 12:30 pm: Concluding Remarks & Plan for Rest of AgWireless’26 and Beyond

12:30 – 1:45 pm: Lunch
1:00 – 1:30 pm: Lunch Keynote: Connecting the Unconnected When the Link Keeps Breaking: Cross-TRL Lessons from Open-Ocean and In-Flight LEO

1:30 – 1:45 pm: Best Poster/Demo Award, Arathon Winner Award & Presentation

1:45 – 4:00 pm: Demo & Exhibit at ARA Site in 2026 Farm Progress Show

 

September 2-3, 2026: Demo & Exhibit
Location: Farm Progress Show

8:00 am – 4:00 pm: Wireless & AgTech Exhibit





 

 

Venue

The ARA User Program of AgWireless’26 will be held at the Iowa State University (ISU) Student Innovation Center on August 29-30, the NSF Workshop will be held at the ISU Alumni Center on August 31 and September 1, with part of the program on September 1 held at the 2026 Farm Progress Show, and the Demo & Exhibit will be held at the 2026 Farm Progress Show on September 2 – 3.

Fun facts about the Farm Progress Show can be found here.

Fun facts about the Iowa State University campus and the City of Ames can be found here.

Hotels

With the Farm Progress Show coming to the ARA coverage area, hundreds of thousands of visitors will book up hotels around the City of Ames soon. AgWireless’26 participants are strongly encouraged to book hotels ASAP before hotel rooms run out or become very pricy. (orbitz.com can be good platform to find hotels.)

Iowa House Ames – Historic Inn Hotel
405 Hayward Ave, Ames, IA
(515) 292-2474
~$145 per night*
CyRide Accessible 1 ~ 2 miles from ISU Alumni Center

Comfort Inn & Suites
603 S 16th St, Ames, IA
(515) 663-9555
w/Cancellation till Aug 29th: $332/night*
Non-Ref: $266/night
CyRide Accessible ~ 2 miles from ISU Alumni Center

Sleep Inn & Suites
1310 Dickinson Ave, Ames, IA
(515) 425-4120
w/Cancellation till Aug 24th: $441/night*
CyRide Accessible 3 ~ 4 miles from ISU Alumni Center

Days Inn by Wyndham Ames
229 S Duff Ave, Ames, IA
(515) 203-3080
w/Cancellation till Aug 30: $259/night*
CyRide Accessible ~ 2 miles from ISU Alumni Center

Other great hotels in Ames can be found here. Besides Ames, hotels are available in nearby cities such as Boone, Ankeny, and Des Moines.

* Information is for informal reference only. Please check with the individual hotels for the latest information on room rates and cancellation polices.

Travel

Many commercial and commuter airlines serve the Des Moines International Airport (DSM) which is 35 miles away from Ames, Iowa. Private planes use the Ames Municipal Airport. Car rental is available at the Des Moines airport.

Parking & Transportation

Parking is available at the Iowa State University Alumni Center (e.g., lots A3, A4, and A5), and detailed information can be found here.

Transportation is expected to be provided between the Alumni Center and the Schilletter Village (SUV), in the early morning (before the first session) and late afternoon (after the last session).

 

Register Here!

TypeEarly Registration (until August 9, 2026)Regular Registration (until August 16 / 26, 2026)
Registration
Fee		$300 (in person)
$100 (online)		$400 (in person, until August 16)
$150 (online, until August 26)
Fee Waiver/
Discount		Full consideration for potential waiver/discount of registration feeIf fund is available after all the early registrants have been considered.
Travel GrantFull consideration for academics as well as industry and government professionals from U.S. institutions.If travel fund is available after all the early registrants have been considered.

(Note: to help best plan the event, registration at your earliest convenience and well before the deadlines is appreciated.)

Waiver/Discount of Registration Fee: to make the event accessible to as many participants as possible, the ARA team is trying its best to secure resources for potentially providing a registration fee waiver/discount to participants who may need it. If the registration fee waiver/discount is critical to your participation, please fill in this application form.

Travel Grant: a limited number of travel grants are expected to be made available to academics as well as industry and government professionals from U.S. institutions (with students given the highest priority). If you are interested in applying for a travel grant, please submit the following information in a single PDF file via this application form.

  • CV
  • [Student Only] Personal statement (no more than 2 pages) with approval signature from the student’s advisor/supervisor. It is recommended that the personal statement discuss (1) the applicant’s research accomplishments so far, (2) how the participation in AraFest’26 (e.g., ARA Use Training Session) may help with the applicant’s current and future research, spelling out specific research topics for which ARA can serve as a testbed, and (3) whether or not the participant will be willing to serve as an active user of ARA and share ARA use experience and insight with the broad community for collaborative learning.

Poster & Talk Sessions: We encourage all attendees (especially travel grant applicants) to submit, by August 16, 2026, to the Poster Session and/or Talk Session using this form.

  • Poster & Demo Session: Showcase your current research and/or how you plan to use ARA. Awards will be given for Best Poster and Honorable Mention.
  • Talk Session: Present your research and how you have used—or plan to use—ARA.

Travel grant application deadline: applications will be reviewed and grants will be awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis; participants are invited to submit applications ASAP and by 11:59pm August 2, 2026 US Pacific Time. (Applications may be considered after August 2, but early applications are strongly encouraged.)

Early registration deadline: 11:59pm August 2, 2026 US Pacific Time

Regular registration deadline: 11:59pm August 16/26, 2026 US Pacific Time

Register Here!

 

AgWireless’26 is made possible by the generous support of the following sponsors. If your organization may be interested in co-sponsoring the event, please contact partner@arawireless.org.

Platinum

Program Chair
Hongwei Zhang, Iowa State University (ECE)

 

NSF AgRuralG Workshop Committee
Jaydee Grififth, Next G Alliance
Larry Peterson, Princeton University & Linux Foundation Aether Project
Brett Ramirez, Iowa State University (ABE)
Soumik Sarkar, Iowa State University (ME)
Muhammad Shahbaz, University of Michigan (ECE)
Ness Shroff, Ohio State University (ECE)
Asheesh Singh, Iowa State University (Agronomy)
Zhi-Li Zhang, University of Minnesota (CSE)

ARA User Program & Local Organizing Committee
Sarath Babu, Iowa State University (ECE)
Joshua Ofori Boateng, Iowa State University (ECE)
Taimoor Ul Islam, Iowa State University (ECE)
Daji Qiao, Iowa State University (ECE)
Mohamed Selim, Iowa State University (ECE)
Tianyi Zhang, Iowa State University (ECE)

Event Management
Ali Tallaq, Iowa State University (WiCI)

 

To reach out to the organization team, please email e2@arawireless.org.

 

 

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