Telecommunications
A Scalable and Generalizable Pathloss Map Prediction
Lee, Ju-Hyung, Molisch, Andreas F.
Large-scale channel prediction, i.e., estimation of the pathloss from geographical/morphological/building maps, is an essential component of wireless network planning. Ray tracing (RT)-based methods have been widely used for many years, but they require significant computational effort that may become prohibitive with the increased network densification and/or use of higher frequencies in B5G/6G systems. In this paper, we propose a data-driven, model-free pathloss map prediction (PMP) method, called PMNet. PMNet uses a supervised learning approach: it is trained on a limited amount of RT (or channel measurement) data and map data. Once trained, PMNet can predict pathloss over location with high accuracy (an RMSE level of $10^{-2}$) in a few milliseconds. We further extend PMNet by employing transfer learning (TL). TL allows PMNet to learn a new network scenario quickly (x5.6 faster training) and efficiently (using x4.5 less data) by transferring knowledge from a pre-trained model, while retaining accuracy. Our results demonstrate that PMNet is a scalable and generalizable ML-based PMP method, showing its potential to be used in several network optimization applications.
Toward Energy-Efficient Massive MIMO: Graph Neural Network Precoding for Mitigating Non-Linear PA Distortion
Feys, Thomas, Van der Perre, Liesbet, Rottenberg, François
Massive MIMO systems are typically designed assuming linear power amplifiers (PAs). However, PAs are most energy efficient close to saturation, where non-linear distortion arises. For conventional precoders, this distortion can coherently combine at user locations, limiting performance. We propose a graph neural network (GNN) to learn a mapping between channel and precoding matrices, which maximizes the sum rate affected by non-linear distortion, using a high-order polynomial PA model. In the distortion-limited regime, this GNN-based precoder outperforms zero forcing (ZF), ZF plus digital pre-distortion (DPD) and the distortion-aware beamforming (DAB) precoder from the state-of-the-art. At an input back-off of -3 dB the proposed precoder compared to ZF increases the sum rate by 8.60 and 8.84 bits/channel use for two and four users respectively. Radiation patterns show that these gains are achieved by transmitting the non-linear distortion in non-user directions. In the four user-case, for a fixed sum rate, the total consumed power (PA and processing) of the GNN precoder is 3.24 and 1.44 times lower compared to ZF and ZF plus DPD respectively. A complexity analysis shows six orders of magnitude reduction compared to DAB precoding. This opens perspectives to operate PAs closer to saturation, which drastically increases their energy efficiency.
Anomaly Detection for Scalable Task Grouping in Reinforcement Learning-based RAN Optimization
Li, Jimmy, Kozlov, Igor, Wu, Di, Liu, Xue, Dudek, Gregory
The use of learning-based methods for optimizing cellular radio access networks (RAN) has received increasing attention in recent years. This coincides with a rapid increase in the number of cell sites worldwide, driven largely by dramatic growth in cellular network traffic. Training and maintaining learned models that work well across a large number of cell sites has thus become a pertinent problem. This paper proposes a scalable framework for constructing a reinforcement learning policy bank that can perform RAN optimization across a large number of cell sites with varying traffic patterns. Central to our framework is a novel application of anomaly detection techniques to assess the compatibility between sites (tasks) and the policy bank. This allows our framework to intelligently identify when a policy can be reused for a task, and when a new policy needs to be trained and added to the policy bank. Our results show that our approach to compatibility assessment leads to an efficient use of computational resources, by allowing us to construct a performant policy bank without exhaustively training on all tasks, which makes it applicable under real-world constraints.
Robust UAV Position and Attitude Estimation using Multiple GNSS Receivers for Laser-based 3D Mapping
Suzuki, Taro, Inoue, Daichi, Amano, Yoshiharu
Small-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely investigated for use in a variety of applications such as remote sensing and aerial surveying. Direct three-dimensional (3D) mapping using a small-sized UAV equipped with a laser scanner is required for numerous remote sensing applications. In direct 3D mapping, the precise information about the position and attitude of the UAV is necessary for constructing 3D maps. In this study, we propose a novel and robust technique for estimating the position and attitude of small-sized UAVs by employing multiple low-cost and light-weight global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antennas/receivers. Using the "redundancy" of multiple GNSS receivers, we enhance the performance of real-time kinematic (RTK)-GNSS by employing single-frequency GNSS receivers. This method consists of two approaches: hybrid GNSS fix solutions and consistency examination of the GNSS signal strength. The fix rate of RTK-GNSS using single-frequency GNSS receivers can be highly enhanced to combine multiple RTK-GNSS to fix solutions in the multiple antennas. In addition, positioning accuracy and fix rate can be further enhanced to detect multipath signals by using multiple GNSS antennas. In this study, we developed a prototype UAV that is equipped with six GNSS antennas/receivers. From the static test results, we conclude that the proposed technique can enhance the accuracy of the position and attitude estimation in multipath environments. From the flight test, the proposed system could generate a 3D map with an accuracy of 5 cm.
Classification of Home Network Problems with Transformers
Dötterl, Jeremias, Fard, Zahra Hemmati
We propose a classifier that can identify ten common home network problems based on the raw textual output of networking tools such as ping, dig, and ip. Our deep learning model uses an encoder-only transformer architecture with a particular pre-tokenizer that we propose for splitting the tool output into token sequences. The use of transformers distinguishes our approach from related work on network problem classification, which still primarily relies on non-deep-learning methods. Our model achieves high accuracy in our experiments, demonstrating the high potential of transformer-based problem classification for the home network.
Industrial Internet of Things Intelligence Empowering Smart Manufacturing: A Literature Review
Hu, Yujiao, Jia, Qingmin, Yao, Yuao, Lee, Yong, Lee, Mengjie, Wang, Chenyi, Zhou, Xiaomao, Xie, Renchao, Yu, F. Richard
The fiercely competitive business environment and increasingly personalized customization needs are driving the digital transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. IIoT intelligence, which can provide innovative and efficient solutions for various aspects of the manufacturing value chain, illuminates the path of transformation for the manufacturing industry. It is time to provide a systematic vision of IIoT intelligence. However, existing surveys often focus on specific areas of IIoT intelligence, leading researchers and readers to have biases in their understanding of IIoT intelligence, that is, believing that research in one direction is the most important for the development of IIoT intelligence, while ignoring contributions from other directions. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of IIoT intelligence. We first conduct an in-depth analysis of the inevitability of manufacturing transformation and study the successful experiences from the practices of Chinese enterprises. Then we give our definition of IIoT intelligence and demonstrate the value of IIoT intelligence for industries in fucntions, operations, deployments, and application. Afterwards, we propose a hierarchical development architecture for IIoT intelligence, which consists of five layers. The practical values of technical upgrades at each layer are illustrated by a close look on lighthouse factories. Following that, we identify seven kinds of technologies that accelerate the transformation of manufacturing, and clarify their contributions. Finally, we explore the open challenges and development trends from four aspects to inspire future researches.
Adaptive Resource Allocation for Semantic Communication Networks
Wang, Lingyi, Wu, Wei, Zhou, Fuhui, Yang, Zhaohui, Qin, Zhijin
Semantic communication, recognized as a promising technology for future intelligent applications, has received widespread research attention. Despite the potential of semantic communication to enhance transmission reliability, especially in low signal-to-noise (SNR) environments, the critical issue of resource allocation and compatibility in the dynamic wireless environment remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we propose an adaptive semantic resource allocation paradigm with semantic-bit quantization (SBQ) compatibly for existing wireless communications, where the inaccurate environment perception introduced by the additional mapping relationship between semantic metrics and transmission metrics is solved. In order to investigate the performance of semantic communication networks, the quality of service for semantic communication (SC-QoS), including the semantic quantization efficiency (SQE) and transmission latency, is proposed for the first time. A problem of maximizing the overall effective SC-QoS is formulated by jointly optimizing the transmit beamforming of the base station, the bits for semantic representation, the subchannel assignment, and the bandwidth resource allocation. To address the non-convex formulated problem, an intelligent resource allocation scheme is proposed based on a hybrid deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm, where the intelligent agent can perceive both semantic tasks and dynamic wireless environments. Simulation results demonstrate that our design can effectively combat semantic noise and achieve superior performance in wireless communications compared to several benchmark schemes. Furthermore, compared to mapping-guided paradigm based resource allocation schemes, our proposed adaptive scheme can achieve up to 13% performance improvement in terms of SC-QoS.
UAV-assisted Semantic Communication with Hybrid Action Reinforcement Learning
Si, Peiyuan, Zhao, Jun, Lam, Kwok-Yan, Yang, Qing
To keep as FFHQ dataset (image size 1024 1024). Nouveau VAE the Metaverse up-to-date, uplink data collection for object (NVAE) proposed by Vahdat et al. [10] further improved the modeling and updating are essential for VR applications. The performance of VAE and achieved satisfying results on various efficiency of data transmission has a direct impact on user high-quality image datasets. Li et al. [11] found that devices experience once there are demands to update the VR background, can select different scales of sub-models that requires less which is different from the traditional VR applications computational energy at the cost of reconstruction quality, and whose contents are not frequently updated. The 3-D modeling formulated the relationship between them. of remote area VR backgrounds including buildings (indoor and outdoor), roads, and natural environments are based on To cope with the challenge of wireless network coverage numerous photos taken on location, e.g., more than 1500 in remote areas, UAV-assisted data collection is considered as images with the average size of 10Mb are required to model a practical solution to set up flexible wireless networks for an area with historic buildings [?]. The data collection with heterogeneous user requirements [?], especially the research such large size poses requirements for both high transmission on UAV-enabled communication resource allocation, trajectory efficiency and wide network coverage.
Green Edge AI: A Contemporary Survey
Mao, Yuyi, Yu, Xianghao, Huang, Kaibin, Zhang, Ying-Jun Angela, Zhang, Jun
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have emerged as pivotal enablers across a multitude of industries, including consumer electronics, healthcare, and manufacturing, largely due to their resurgence over the past decade. The transformative power of AI is primarily derived from the utilization of deep neural networks (DNNs), which require extensive data for training and substantial computational resources for processing. Consequently, DNN models are typically trained and deployed on resource-rich cloud servers. However, due to potential latency issues associated with cloud communications, deep learning (DL) workflows are increasingly being transitioned to wireless edge networks near end-user devices (EUDs). This shift is designed to support latency-sensitive applications and has given rise to a new paradigm of edge AI, which will play a critical role in upcoming 6G networks to support ubiquitous AI applications. Despite its potential, edge AI faces substantial challenges, mostly due to the dichotomy between the resource limitations of wireless edge networks and the resource-intensive nature of DL. Specifically, the acquisition of large-scale data, as well as the training and inference processes of DNNs, can rapidly deplete the battery energy of EUDs. This necessitates an energy-conscious approach to edge AI to ensure both optimal and sustainable performance. In this paper, we present a contemporary survey on green edge AI. We commence by analyzing the principal energy consumption components of edge AI systems to identify the fundamental design principles of green edge AI. Guided by these principles, we then explore energy-efficient design methodologies for the three critical tasks in edge AI systems, including training data acquisition, edge training, and edge inference. Finally, we underscore potential future research directions to further enhance the energy efficiency of edge AI.
An Adaptive Framework for Generalizing Network Traffic Prediction towards Uncertain Environments
Downey, Alexander, Tuna, Evren, Soysal, Alkan
We have developed a new framework using time-series analysis for dynamically assigning mobile network traffic prediction models in previously unseen wireless environments. Our framework selectively employs learned behaviors, outperforming any single model with over a 50% improvement relative to current studies. More importantly, it surpasses traditional approaches without needing prior knowledge of a cell. While this paper focuses on network traffic prediction using our adaptive forecasting framework, this framework can also be applied to other machine learning applications in uncertain environments. The framework begins with unsupervised clustering of time-series data to identify unique trends and seasonal patterns. Subsequently, we apply supervised learning for traffic volume prediction within each cluster. This specialization towards specific traffic behaviors occurs without penalties from spatial and temporal variations. Finally, the framework adaptively assigns trained models to new, previously unseen cells. By analyzing real-time measurements of a cell, our framework intelligently selects the most suitable cluster for that cell at any given time, with cluster assignment dynamically adjusting to spatio-temporal fluctuations.