Abu Dhabi-UAE – Khalifa University of Science and Technology’s Digital Future Institute today announced the launch of ‘RF-GPT’ a first-of-its-kind radio-frequency AI language model capable of interpreting wireless signals, overcoming a major limitation in telecom AI where language models typically operate only on text and structured network data.

RF-GPT showed consistent performance improvements in radio frequency spectrogram tasks, outperforming existing baseline models by up to 75.4%, demonstrating strong radio frequency understanding. RF-GPT also correctly counted the number of signals in a spectrogram ~98% of the time, which general-purpose AI models almost never achieve.

RF-GPT works by turning radio signals into visual patterns that artificial intelligence can understand. Once converted, AI systems can analyze those patterns and answer questions about what is happening in the wireless spectrum using plain language. The foundation model directly contributes to the UAE National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, laying the groundwork for more autonomous and intelligent wireless networks.

The project was developed by Khalifa University researchers led by Professor Merouane Debbah, Senior Director, Digital Future Institute, and includes Post Doctoral Fellows Hang Zou, Yu Tian, Research Scientists Dr. Lina Bariah, Khalifa University, Dr. Samson Lasaulce, Universit´ e de Lorraine, and Dr. Chongwen Huang and PhD student Bohao Wang from Zhejiang University.

Professor Ahmed Al Durrah, Associate Provost for Research, Khalifa University, said: “The launch of ‘RF-GPT’ reflects Khalifa University’s long-term focus on innovation in digital infrastructure to advance AI integration across strategic sectors, and next-generation connectivity research, aligned with national priorities. Initiatives such as this model contribute to UAE’s fast growing human capital and research capabilities necessary to support the UAE’s evolving digital ecosystem.”

Professor Merouane Debbah said: “RF-GPT represents a turning point for spectrum intelligence, moving from isolated, task-specific radio frequency pipelines toward a unified RF-language interface. We gave a language model its first glimpse of the electromagnetic spectrum and the view is already remarkable. Imagine what it will see next. By making the physical layer quarriable in natural language, we open the door to AI-native radio systems where RF perception can directly support network optimization and policy decisions, a crucial step toward future AI-native 6G networks.”

RF-GPT was trained using approximately 625,000 computer-generated radio signal examples, and is designed for telecom operators, network engineering teams, and spectrum authorities, supporting increasingly complex wireless environments. The model performed strongly across tasks such as identifying signal types, detecting overlapping transmissions, recognizing wireless standards, estimating device usage in Wi-Fi networks, and extracting data from 5G signals.

About the Digital Future Institute

The Digital Future Institute (DFI) is Khalifa University’s applied AI and ICT institute dedicated to designing, building, and deploying intelligent digital systems across communications, networks, energy, climate, and secure infrastructure. DFI combines foundational research with industry-aligned partnerships to accelerate sector-specific foundation models and deployable AI platforms. The Institute bridges academia, industry, and national stakeholders to translate cutting-edge AI into operational, real-world systems. Structured around measurable impact and deployment readiness, DFI integrates AI infrastructure, benchmarking frameworks, industry pilots, and commercialization pathways to ensure AI is engineered for purpose, scale, and long-term national value.

About Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Khalifa University of Science and Technology, the UAE’s top-ranked research-intensive institution, focuses on developing world leaders and critical thinkers in science, engineering, and health science. The world-class university endeavors to be a catalyst to the growth of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s rapidly developing knowledge economy as an education destination of choice and a global leader among widely acknowledged international universities.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ku.ac.ae/