Electrical & Computer Engineer

Ans
Rehman

MS ECE at KAUST — building the systems behind next-generation wireless.

I work at the intersection of embedded systems, IoT, and 5G/6G wireless — from production-grade LoRaWAN firmware on Zephyr RTOS to deep-reinforcement-learning optimization of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

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Ans Rehman
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
01

Research Interests

My research spans the full stack of modern wireless — from the embedded firmware on the device to the learning algorithms that shape the radio environment itself.

›Embedded Systems & IoT ›5G / 6G Wireless Communications ›RIS / IRS-Assisted Networks ›Deep Reinforcement Learning for Wireless Optimization ›Security in 5G / 6G Systems
02

Research & Professional Experience

Oct 2025 — Present Communication Theory Lab · KAUST, KSA

Integration of LoRaWAN with RangingStack

Graduate Researcher · Advisor: Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini

  • Developing an embedded IoT framework integrating LoRaWAN for scalable, low-power sensor networks.
  • Building production-grade solutions on Zephyr RTOS and the nRF Connect SDK for long-term supportability.
  • Implementing Two-Way Time of Arrival (TW-ToA) with the LR1110 to enable precise ranging independent of LoRaWAN.
  • Building end-to-end infrastructure with nRF52840 boards and a LoRaWAN gateway connected to an LNS.
Mar 2025 — Aug 2025 Advance Networks Lab · National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan

5G & B5G Network Optimization with DRL

Research Intern (IIPP) · Advisor: Prof. Jen-Yi Pan

  • Conducted DRL-based optimization of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) to maximize network sum-rate.
  • Implemented DDPG and SAC algorithms for dynamic RIS phase optimization.
  • Improved spectral efficiency and throughput over baseline optimization methods.
Jul 2024 — Feb 2025 EPTeck · Team Lead: M. Taseen

Embedded Engineer

Full-time · Secure industrial IoT

  • Designed and deployed secure IoT architectures across ESP-IDF, FreeRTOS, STM32, Raspberry Pi and ESP32/8266.
  • Engineered end-to-end communication pipelines using MQTT, HTTPS and serial protocols (I2C, SPI, UART).
  • Led system-level optimization in the SFILL, REMOTWELL and SPUMP projects, cutting latency and resource overhead.
  • Collaborated cross-functionally to ensure IoT security and performance compliance.
May 2022 — Jun 2023 SAP Lab · UET Lahore

Research Assistant

Antenna design & next-gen wireless ·

  • Applied machine learning to optimize antenna design for next-generation wireless communication.
  • Worked on antenna miniaturization techniques for 5G/6G applications.
  • Simulated MIMO and RIS-assisted networks using MATLAB and NS-3.
03

Publications

[1]

PackMLP: A Patch-Based MLP Model for Intelligent Inventory Forecasting and Automation with A-LIQ QR Scanning Integration

M. Zubair, SMS. Haider, A. Rehman, MS. Javed, A. Waleed, R. Chauhdary

2026 DOI
[2]

Bi-Level Optimization for STAR-RIS-Assisted Multiuser Downlink: Closed-Form Beamforming and Gradient-Based Phase Design

M. Zubair, A. Rehman

2025 Under Review
[3]

Digital Board Pro: An Interactive Whiteboard

A. Rehman, M. Zubair, MY. Jamal, M. Shahid, A. Waleed, SU. Rehman

ICIT 2024 DOI
[4]

Next-Generation Healthcare: Design and Implementation of a Smart Medicine Vending System

M. Zubair, A. Waleed, A. Rehman, F. Ahmad, M. Islam, MS. Javed

IEEE HITE 2024 DOI
[5]

Machine Learning Insights into Retail Sales Prediction: A Comparative Analysis of Algorithms

M. Zubair, A. Waleed, A. Rehman, F. Ahmad, M. Islam, MS. Javed

IEEE HITE 2024 DOI
04

Selected Projects

STAR-RIS · Optimization

Bi-Level Optimization for STAR-RIS Systems

A novel bi-level scheme combining closed-form beamforming with gradient-based STAR-RIS phase updates — practical at large scale (N=50 elements, M=40 BS antennas).

Partnered with M. Zubair
71–80%
Higher sum-rate
95%
Lower runtime
5×
vs non-RIS
LLM · Beamforming

LLM-Assisted Phase Shift Optimization for STAR-RIS

Joint active beamforming and passive phase-shift optimization for STAR-RIS-assisted MISO systems, using LLMs to approximate non-convex optimization mappings.

Partnered with M. Zubair
97.3%
Spectral eff. vs AO
−36%
Complexity
Computer Vision · IR

SmartSurface — Interactive Whiteboard

Turns any flat surface into a touch-sensitive panel using computer vision and IR, with real-time gesture recognition and touch tracking.

Advisor: Prof. M. Akram
99%
Touch accuracy
43–53ms
Latency
Transformers · Speech

Smart Prescription Vending Machine

A transformer model that extracts medicine names from prescription images while ignoring meta-text, combined with touch and speech input.

Advisor: Dr. Aashir Waleed
93.2%
Accuracy
95.6%
Precision
200ms
Per prediction
Security · Networking

PayamTak — Secure Communication System

A socket-programming chat application built on zero-trust principles with end-to-end encryption, authentication, authorization and encrypted transmission.

Advisor: Dr. Aashir Waleed
E2EE
Encryption
Zero-Trust
Architecture
Networking · Simulation

Network Topology Simulation & Analysis

Campus-wide network topology in Cisco Packet Tracer with configured routing tables, benchmarking multiple routing protocols to find optimal configurations.

Partnered with M. Zubair
Cisco
Packet Tracer
Multi
Protocol bench
05

Technical Skills

Programming

  • Python
  • C++
  • Embedded C
  • MATLAB
  • Assembly

AI / ML

  • TensorFlow
  • PyTorch
  • Scikit-learn
  • OpenCV
  • Pandas

Networking & Security

  • Wireshark
  • Burp Suite
  • Cisco Packet Tracer
  • NS-3
  • MQTT
  • Postman

Embedded Systems

  • ESP-IDF
  • STM32 · ESP32
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Arduino
  • FreeRTOS
  • Zephyr RTOS

Tools

  • Git / GitLab
  • LaTeX
  • Linux
  • Matplotlib
06

Honors, Education & Beyond

Education

  • MS, Electrical & Computer Engineering - KAUST · Jan 2026 – Present
  • BSc, Electrical Engineering - UET Lahore · 2020 – 2024

Honors & Achievements

  • Selected for the prestigious IIPP Internship Program, Taiwan · 2025
  • Chosen for the KAIST EE Visit Camp, South Korea · 2024
  • Full research funding from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) & IGNITE · 2024
  • Awarded the Merit Laptop by the Prime Minister of Pakistan · 2023
  • Class Representative · 2020–2024
  • Student of the Year · 2018
  • Javelin Throw, 100m Sprint & Long Jump winner · 2018

Volunteer & Leadership

  • Head of the Cybersecurity Team @ Google Developer Student Club
  • Event Management Team Lead @ UFHD
  • Event Management Team Lead @ IEEE Student Club
  • Team Lead, Speed Programming @ EE-UET Lahore

Certifications

  • Supervised Machine Learning: Regression & ClassificationStanford · Coursera
  • Neural Networks and Deep LearningCoursera
  • Introduction to Machine LearningKaggle
  • Intermediate Machine LearningKaggle
  • Master Course in AI & Deep LearningUdemy
  • IBM Cybersecurity AnalystIBM · Coursera
  • Network Security & Database VulnerabilitiesIBM · Coursera