Cooperation Agreements and Accords

Institutional Cooperation for Research, Innovation, and Human Resources Training

INCT Signals maintains formal cooperation agreements and partnerships with education, research, technological development, and innovation institutions in Brazil and abroad. These partnerships expand the network's scientific and technological capacity, promoting the integration of complementary skills, the exchange of researchers and students, the development of joint research, and the sharing of data, knowledge, and specialized infrastructure.

The agreements are directly aligned with the mission of INCT Signals to promote national and international collaboration for the development of new sensing strategies, airborne and satellite platforms, radio frequency systems, antennas, instrumentation, and advanced data and signal processing methods.

Through these cooperations, the Institute strengthens its thematic axes, expands the qualified training of human resources, and creates favorable conditions for transforming scientific results into technological solutions with an impact on society.

German Aerospace Center — DLR

The German Aerospace Center — DLR is Germany's research and technology center in the fields of aeronautics, space, energy, transport, digitalization, security, and defense. Its work combines advanced scientific research, technology development, and the operation of large-scale experimental infrastructures.

Cooperation with DLR is of particular relevance to INCT Signals' objectives related to remote sensing, airborne and satellite monitoring, radar systems, navigation, the processing of data from space platforms, and the validation of methods using experimental data.

The partnership fosters joint research, interaction among researchers, access to specialized knowledge and data, and the development of advanced signal processing methods for aerospace applications. It also contributes to the axes of environmental and climate monitoring, surveillance and security, autonomous and intelligent systems, and the characterization of communication and sensing systems.

Main interfaces with the axes of INCT Signals:

• Remote sensing and radar systems;

• Airborne and satellite monitoring;

• Signal processing and geospatial data.

Get to know the institution: German Aerospace Center — DLR

CEDRA — Center for Embedded Devices and Research in Digital Agriculture

CEDRA is a center focused on the development of embedded devices, digital solutions, and technologies applied to agriculture and agribusiness. Its operations integrate research, innovation, and connection with the productive sector, creating a favorable environment for the development and validation of new technologies.

The cooperation between INCT Signals and CEDRA brings the network's expertise in sensing, communications, embedded systems, Internet of Things, intelligent data processing, and remote monitoring closer to concrete applications in the agribusiness sector.

This partnership makes it possible to explore data acquisition and processing systems from terrestrial, airborne, and space sensors, as well as connectivity, automation, and artificial intelligence solutions. The interaction also favors technology transfer, conducting tests in representative environments, and bringing INCT Signals' research closer to the real demands of the productive sector.

Main interfaces with the axes of INCT Signals:

• Environmental and climate monitoring;

• Remote sensing applied to agriculture;

• Communications and signal processing;

• Autonomous and intelligent systems;

• Technology transfer and innovation.

Get to know the institution: CEDRA

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China — UESTC

The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China — UESTC is an institution with outstanding performance in electronic engineering, information technologies, communications, and signal processing. The university has research structures dedicated, among other topics, to wireless communications, microwave detection, signal processing, and advanced electronic systems.

Cooperation with UESTC strengthens the international dimension of INCT Signals' research in wireless communications, signal processing, radio frequency sensing, radar systems, channel modeling, antennas, and associated electronic technologies.

The agreement creates opportunities for the development of joint scientific work, researcher and student exchange, student co-advising, organization of seminars, and exploration of emerging topics of common interest. The complementarity between the teams contributes especially to the advancement of integrated sensing and communication methods, intelligent systems, and new architectures for transmission, reception, and signal processing.

Main interfaces with the axes of INCT Signals:

• Tensor modeling and estimation;

• Signal processing in sensing systems;

• Researcher training and internationalization.

Get to know the institution: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China — UESTC

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology — Skoltech

The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology — Skoltech is an international research university focused on integrating science, education, innovation, and technological entrepreneurship. Its interdisciplinary structure favors the convergence of areas such as information technologies, artificial intelligence, advanced engineering systems, photonics, energy, and space applications.

Cooperation with Skoltech is aligned with the objectives of INCT Signals related to the development of advanced signal and data processing methods, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, communications, sensing, and technologies for airborne and space platforms.

The partnership expands the possibilities for international scientific collaboration, academic exchange, human resources training, and the development of interdisciplinary approaches. It also favors the connection between fundamental research, experimental development, and innovation, contributing to the creation of solutions capable of integrating sensing, communication, automation, and intelligent information processing.

Main interfaces with the axes of INCT Signals:

• Advanced signal and data processing;

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning;

• Deep neural network modeling.

Get to know the institution: Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology — Skoltech

French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development — IRD

The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) is a French public research institution under the joint authority of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Established in 1944, IRD focuses its scientific activities on addressing major global challenges in tropical and subtropical regions (the Global South). Its research is structured around key priority areas including climate change and natural hazards, water resources and hydrology, ecosystems, biodiversity, and global health. IRD has maintained a strong tradition of scientific cooperation in Brazil for over 60 years, promoting joint research, capacity building, and innovation in partnership with Brazilian institutions.

Cooperation with IRD is of strategic relevance to INCT Signals' objectives in environmental and climate monitoring, remote sensing, and hydro-meteorological signal processing. IRD brings extensive international expertise in space hydrology, as well as pioneering work in opportunistic rainfall sensing. This includes measuring precipitation intensity via bio/ecoacoustic audio recordings and commercial microwave link signal attenuation, bridging physical environmental dynamics with signal processing, machine learning, and AI-driven Meteorology 4.0 paradigms.

This partnership operates through a close scientific collaboration between the SENSE research group at UFC / INCT Signals and IRD researchers from Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) at the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP). This joint initiative has resulted in high-impact co-authored publications, including pioneering work in Geophysical Research Letters (2024) on measuring Amazon rainfall intensity with sound recorders and joint contributions to conferences such as OpenSense, Uncertainties, CBA, and SBrT. The umbrella agreement between UFC and IRD, which benefits INCT Signals, fosters researcher and student mobility (sandwich doctorates and post-doctoral fellowships), shared environmental datasets across diverse tropical and temperate biomes, and the joint organization of international workshops.

Main interfaces with the axes of INCT Signals:

• Environmental and climate monitoring;

• Remote sensing and hydro-meteorological sensing;

• Opportunistic sensing (ecoacoustics and commercial microwave links);

• Signal processing and geospatial data;

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to meteorology;

• Researcher training and internationalization.

Expected Results of the Cooperations

The agreements and cooperation partnerships contribute to the consolidation of an open, interdisciplinary, and internationally connected scientific network. Among the main results favored by these partnerships, the following stand out:

• Development of joint scientific projects and research;

• Publication of co-authored papers;

• Exchange and mobility of researchers and students;

• Co-advising of undergraduate and graduate students;

• Joint organization of seminars, workshops, and training activities;

• Shared access to data, equipment, and research infrastructure;

• Development and validation of prototypes and technological solutions;

• Bridging the gap between universities, research centers, and the productive sector;

• Expanding the scientific, technological, economic, and social impact of research.

These cooperations strengthen INCT Signals' capacity to develop knowledge of excellence, train highly qualified human resources, and generate innovative technologies in the fields of remote sensing, communications, signal processing, monitoring, security, and intelligent systems.