Biography

Daniel Plöger is a research associate and PhD candidate at the Hamburg University of Technology and coordinates the research area on infrastructure for the 15-minute city within the Next Generation City Networking (NGCN) research project at the German Center for Future Mobility. In the research on innovative communication networks, his focus is on modern mobility applications – ranging from low-latency communication in self-driving cars and ultra-resilient sensor networks in passenger aircraft to innovative Beyond-5G mobile networks for efficient and safe mobility in urban centers.

Since 2017 Daniel Plöger is research associate with the Institute of Communication Network, TUHH. A major subject of his work is the reliability demands of communication networks used for networked control systems, in particular autonomous vehicular platooning. He is investigating the impact of network impairment in terms of delay, loss, and jitter on the reliability of such systems. With this information at hand, he determines appropriate measures for the control system to mitigate negative effects of the impairment.

A large part of his research includes understanding the properties of network impairments, their correlation and their likeliness in wireless communication systems. This knowledge, in addition, is both used and expanded in the research projects he is working on: in the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) funded project ReSA (Retrofitbare Sensorsystem-Architektur für prädiktive Instandhaltung) in cooperation with Lufthansa Technik and the ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research, from 2018 to 2022 he researched on ultra-resilient, retrofittable wireless sensor networks for use in commercial aircraft.

The research project FPOplus (Fahrplanoptimierung plus) funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation (BMDS) explored innovative approaches to future public transportation systems in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn AG to make urban mobility simpler and more effective. In the role as project manager of TUHH, from 2023 to 2026 he was investigating 5G and OpenRAN networks with positioning functions to locate passengers in train stations in real time, allowing convenient navigation within the station by using an indoor navigation app on a smartphone to reach the right bus, booked train compartment or other destinations on time.

Since 2025, Daniel Plöger is working as Technical Project Manager for the Pioneer_6G topic within the Next Generation City Networking (NGCN) research project at the German Center for Future Mobility (DZM), funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV). NGCN is researching solutions for the mobility of the future that combine innovative wireless and communications infrastructures with a data-driven modeling platform for the 15-minute city. Through sensor fusion, new data sources, and the integration of AI and IoT, the project aims to improve quality of life, efficiency, and safety. The goal is to improve interoperability and data utilization, as well as to develop new solutions for cities based on an open platform concept that will enable innovations for traffic optimization and improvements to infrastructure and emergency services.

Research Topics

• Reliability demands of communication networks used for Networked Control Systems (NCS) in Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC)

• Ultra-resilient, retrofittable wireless sensor networks for use in commercial aircraft

• 5G and OpenRAN networks with positioning functions for future public transportation systems

• Innovative wireless and communications infrastructures with a data-driven modeling platform for the 15-minute city

Research Projects

• ReSA (Retrofitbare Sensorsystem-Architektur für prädiktive Instandhaltung), 2018 - 2022

• EPIC (Improving Employability Through Internationalization and Collaboration), 2018 - 2019

• FPOplus (Fahrplanoptimierung plus), 2023 - 2026

• Next Generation City Networking (NGCN), since 2025

Teaching

• Computer Networks and Internet Security (B.Sc.)

• Analysis and Structure of Communication Networks (M.Sc.)

• Simulation and Modelling of Communication Networks (M.Sc.)

• Seminar Electrical Engineering, Informatics, and Mathematics (M.Sc.)

Publications