pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Energy-Aware Federated Learning with Distributed User Sampling and Multichannel ALOHA
Authors: Rafael Valente da Silva, Onel L. Alcaraz López, Richard Demo Souza
Date: 2023-09-12 00:00:00
Tasks: Federated Learning

Distributed learning on edge devices has attracted increased attention with the advent of federated learning (FL). Notably, edge devices often have limited battery and heterogeneous energy availability, while multiple rounds are required in FL for convergence, intensifying the need for energy efficiency. Energy depletion may hinder the training process and the efficient utilization of the trained model. To solve these problems, this letter considers the integration of energy harvesting (EH) devices into a FL network with multi-channel ALOHA, while proposing a method to ensure both low energy outage probability and successful execution of future tasks. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of this method, particularly in critical setups where the average energy income fails to cover the iteration cost. The method outperforms a norm based solution in terms of convergence time and battery level.
Emergent Communication in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Future Wireless Networks
Authors: Marwa Chafii, Salmane Naoumi, REDA ALAMI, Ebtesam Almazrouei, Mehdi Bennis, Merouane Debbah
Date: 2023-09-12 00:00:00
Tasks: Autonomous Driving, continuous-control, Continuous Control, Decision Making, Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning, reinforcement-learning, Robot Navigation

In different wireless network scenarios, multiple network entities need to cooperate in order to achieve a common task with minimum delay and energy consumption. Future wireless networks mandate exchanging high dimensional data in dynamic and uncertain environments, therefore implementing communication control tasks becomes challenging and highly complex. Multi-agent reinforcement learning with emergent communication (EC-MARL) is a promising solution to address high dimensional continuous control problems with partially observable states in a cooperative fashion where agents build an emergent communication protocol to solve complex tasks. This paper articulates the importance of EC-MARL within the context of future 6G wireless networks, which imbues autonomous decision-making capabilities into network entities to solve complex tasks such as autonomous driving, robot navigation, flying base stations network planning, and smart city applications. An overview of EC-MARL algorithms and their design criteria are provided while presenting use cases and research opportunities on this emerging topic.
Non-parametric Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition for extracting weak features to identify bearing defects
Authors: Anil Kumar, Yaakoub Berrouche, Radosław Zimroz, Govind Vashishtha, Sumika Chauhan, C. P. Gandhi, Hesheng Tang, Jiawei Xiang
Date: 2023-09-12 00:00:00

A non-parametric complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (NPCEEMD) is proposed for identifying bearing defects using weak features. NPCEEMD is non-parametric because, unlike existing decomposition methods such as ensemble empirical mode decomposition, it does not require defining the ideal SNR of noise and the number of ensembles, every time while processing the signals. The simulation results show that mode mixing in NPCEEMD is less than the existing decomposition methods. After conducting in-depth simulation analysis, the proposed method is applied to experimental data. The proposed NPCEEMD method works in following steps. First raw signal is obtained. Second, the obtained signal is decomposed. Then, the mutual information (MI) of the raw signal with NPCEEMD-generated IMFs is computed. Further IMFs with MI above 0.1 are selected and combined to form a resulting signal. Finally, envelope spectrum of resulting signal is computed to confirm the presence of defect.
Performance Bounds for Near-Field Localization with Widely-Spaced Multi-Subarray mmWave/THz MIMO
Authors: Songjie Yang, Xinyi Chen, Yue Xiu, Wanting Lyu, Zhongpei Zhang, Chau Yuen
Date: 2023-09-12 00:00:00
Tasks: Form

This paper investigates the potential of near-field localization using widely-spaced multi-subarrays (WSMSs) and analyzing the corresponding angle and range Cram\'er-Rao bounds (CRBs). By employing the Riemann sum, closed-form CRB expressions are derived for the spherical wavefront-based WSMS (SW-WSMS). We find that the CRBs can be characterized by the angular span formed by the line connecting the array's two ends to the target, and the different WSMSs with same angular spans but different number of subarrays have identical normalized CRBs. We provide a theoretical proof that, in certain scenarios, the CRB of WSMSs is smaller than that of uniform arrays. We further yield the closed-form CRBs for the hybrid spherical and planar wavefront-based WSMS (HSPW-WSMS), and its components can be seen as decompositions of the parameters from the CRBs for the SW-WSMS. Simulations are conducted to validate the accuracy of the derived closed-form CRBs and provide further insights into various system characteristics. Basically, this paper underscores the high resolution of utilizing WSMS for localization, reinforces the validity of adopting the HSPW assumption, and, considering its applications in communications, indicates a promising outlook for integrated sensing and communications based on HSPW-WSMSs.
Frequency-Aware Masked Autoencoders for Multimodal Pretraining on Biosignals
Authors: Ran Liu, Ellen L. Zippi, Hadi Pouransari, Chris Sandino, Jingping Nie, Hanlin Goh, Erdrin Azemi, Ali Moin
Date: 2023-09-12 00:00:00

Leveraging multimodal information from biosignals is vital for building a comprehensive representation of people's physical and mental states. However, multimodal biosignals often exhibit substantial distributional shifts between pretraining and inference datasets, stemming from changes in task specification or variations in modality compositions. To achieve effective pretraining in the presence of potential distributional shifts, we propose a frequency-aware masked autoencoder ($\texttt{bio}$FAME) that learns to parameterize the representation of biosignals in the frequency space. $\texttt{bio}$FAME incorporates a frequency-aware transformer, which leverages a fixed-size Fourier-based operator for global token mixing, independent of the length and sampling rate of inputs. To maintain the frequency components within each input channel, we further employ a frequency-maintain pretraining strategy that performs masked autoencoding in the latent space. The resulting architecture effectively utilizes multimodal information during pretraining, and can be seamlessly adapted to diverse tasks and modalities at test time, regardless of input size and order. We evaluated our approach on a diverse set of transfer experiments on unimodal time series, achieving an average of $\uparrow$5.5% improvement in classification accuracy over the previous state-of-the-art. Furthermore, we demonstrated that our architecture is robust in modality mismatch scenarios, including unpredicted modality dropout or substitution, proving its practical utility in real-world applications. Code is available at https://github.com/apple/ml-famae .
A Novel Catastrophic Condition for Periodically Time-varying Convolutional Encoders Based on Time-varying Equivalent Convolutional Encoders
Authors: Fan Jiang
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00

A convolutional encoder is said to be catastrophic if it maps an information sequence of infinite weight into a code sequence of finite weight. As a consequence of this mapping, a finite number of channel errors may cause an infinite number of information bit errors when decoding. This situation should be avoided. A catastrophic condition to determine if a time-invariant convolutional encoder is catastrophic or not is stated in \cite{Massey:LSC}. Palazzo developed this condition for periodically time-varying convolutional encoders in \cite{Palazzo:Analysis}. Since Palazzo's condition is based on the state transition table of the constituent encoders, its complexity increases exponentially with the number of memory elements in the encoders. A novel catastrophic condition making use of time-varying equivalent convolutional encoders is presented in this letter. A technique to convert a catastrophic periodically time-varying convolutional encoder into a non-catastrophic one can also be developed based on these encoders. Since they do not involve the state transitions of the convolutional encoder, the time complexity of these methods grows linearly with the encoder memory.
Reinforcement Learning for Supply Chain Attacks Against Frequency and Voltage Control
Authors: Amr S. Mohamed, Sumin Lee, Deepa Kundur
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00
Tasks: reinforcement-learning

The ongoing modernization of the power system, involving new equipment installations and upgrades, exposes the power system to the introduction of malware into its operation through supply chain attacks. Supply chain attacks present a significant threat to power systems, allowing cybercriminals to bypass network defenses and execute deliberate attacks at the physical layer. Given the exponential advancements in machine intelligence, cybercriminals will leverage this technology to create sophisticated and adaptable attacks that can be incorporated into supply chain attacks. We demonstrate the use of reinforcement learning for developing intelligent attacks incorporated into supply chain attacks against generation control devices. We simulate potential disturbances impacting frequency and voltage regulation. The presented method can provide valuable guidance for defending against supply chain attacks.
Adversarial Score-Based Generative Models for MMSE-achieving AmBC Channel Estimation
Authors: Fatemeh Rezaei, S. Mojtaba Marvasti-Zadeh, Chintha Tellambura, Amine Maaref
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00

This letter presents a pioneering method that employs deep learning within a probabilistic framework for the joint estimation of both direct and cascaded channels in an ambient backscatter (AmBC) network comprising multiple tags. In essence, we leverage an adversarial score-based generative model for training, enabling the acquisition of channel distributions. Subsequently, our channel estimation process involves sampling from the posterior distribution, facilitated by the annealed Langevin sampling technique. Notably, our method demonstrates substantial advancements over standard least square (LS) estimation techniques, achieving performance akin to that of the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimator for the direct channel, and outperforming it for the cascaded channels.
Potentials of Deterministic Radio Propagation Simulation for AI-Enabled Localization and Sensing
Authors: Albrecht Michler, Jonas Ninnemann, Jakob Krauthäuser, Paul Schwarzbach, Oliver Michler
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00

Machine leaning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) enable new methods for localization and sensing in next-generation networks to fulfill a wide range of use cases. These approaches rely on learning approaches that require large amounts of training and validation data. This paper addresses the data generation bottleneck to develop and validate such methods by proposing an integrated toolchain based on deterministic channel modeling and radio propagation simulation. The toolchain is demonstrated exemplary for scenario classification to obtain localization-related channel parameters within an aircraft cabin environment.
Grid-based Hybrid 3DMA GNSS and Terrestrial Positioning
Authors: Paul Schwarzbach, Albrecht Michler, Oliver Michler
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00
Tasks: State Estimation

The paper discusses the increasing use of hybridized sensor information for GNSS-based localization and navigation, including the use of 3D map-aided GNSS positioning and terrestrial systems based on different geometric measurement principles. However, both GNSS and terrestrial systems are subject to negative impacts from the propagation environment, which can violate the assumptions of conventionally applied parametric state estimators. Furthermore, dynamic parametric state estimation does not account for multi-modalities within the state space leading to an information loss within the prediction step. In addition, the synchronization of non-deterministic multi-rate measurement systems needs to be accounted. In order to address these challenges, the paper proposes the use of a non-parametric filtering method, specifically a 3DMA multi-epoch Grid Filter, for the tight integration of GNSS and terrestrial signals. Specifically, the fusion of GNSS, Ultra-wide Band (UWB) and vehicle motion data is introduced based on a discrete state representation. Algorithmic challenges, including the use of different measurement models and time synchronization, are addressed. In order to evaluate the proposed method, real-world tests were conducted on an urban automotive testbed in both static and dynamic scenarios. We empirically show that we achieve sub-meter accuracy in the static scenario by averaging a positioning error of $0.64$ m, whereas in the dynamic scenario the average positioning error amounts to $1.62$ m. The paper provides a proof-of-concept of the introduced method and shows the feasibility of the inclusion of terrestrial signals in a 3DMA positioning framework in order to further enhance localization in GNSS-degraded environments.
Temporal Patience: Efficient Adaptive Deep Learning for Embedded Radar Data Processing
Authors: Max Sponner, Julius Ott, Lorenzo Servadei, Bernd Waschneck, Robert Wille, Akash Kumar
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00

Radar sensors offer power-efficient solutions for always-on smart devices, but processing the data streams on resource-constrained embedded platforms remains challenging. This paper presents novel techniques that leverage the temporal correlation present in streaming radar data to enhance the efficiency of Early Exit Neural Networks for Deep Learning inference on embedded devices. These networks add additional classifier branches between the architecture's hidden layers that allow for an early termination of the inference if their result is deemed sufficient enough by an at-runtime decision mechanism. Our methods enable more informed decisions on when to terminate the inference, reducing computational costs while maintaining a minimal loss of accuracy. Our results demonstrate that our techniques save up to 26% of operations per inference over a Single Exit Network and 12% over a confidence-based Early Exit version. Our proposed techniques work on commodity hardware and can be combined with traditional optimizations, making them accessible for resource-constrained embedded platforms commonly used in smart devices. Such efficiency gains enable real-time radar data processing on resource-constrained platforms, allowing for new applications in the context of smart homes, Internet-of-Things, and human-computer interaction.
Quaternion MLP Neural Networks Based on the Maximum Correntropy Criterion
Authors: Gang Wang, Xinyu Tian, Zuxuan Zhang
Date: 2023-09-11 00:00:00

We propose a gradient ascent algorithm for quaternion multilayer perceptron (MLP) networks based on the cost function of the maximum correntropy criterion (MCC). In the algorithm, we use the split quaternion activation function based on the generalized Hamilton-real quaternion gradient. By introducing a new quaternion operator, we first rewrite the early quaternion single layer perceptron algorithm. Secondly, we propose a gradient descent algorithm for quaternion multilayer perceptron based on the cost function of the mean square error (MSE). Finally, the MSE algorithm is extended to the MCC algorithm. Simulations show the feasibility of the proposed method.
Multi UAV-enabled Distributed Sensing: Cooperation Orchestration and Detection Protocol
Authors: Xavier Alejandro Flores Cabezas, Diana Pamela Moya Osorio, Markku Juntti
Date: 2023-09-10 00:00:00
Tasks: Compressive Sensing

This paper proposes an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based distributed sensing framework that uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms to detect the position of a ground target, and UAVs operate in half-duplex mode. A spatial grid approach is proposed, where an specific area in the ground is divided into cells of equal size, then the radar cross-section (RCS) of each cell is jointly estimated by a network of dual-function UAVs. For this purpose, three estimation algorithms are proposed employing the maximum likelihood criterion, and digital beamforming is used for the local signal acquisition at the receive UAVs. It is also considered that the coordination, fusion of sensing data, and central estimation is performed at a certain UAV acting as a fusion center (FC). Monte Carlo simulations are performed to obtain the absolute estimation error of the proposed framework. The results show an improved accuracy and resolution by the proposed framework, if compared to a single monostatic UAV benchmark, due to the distributed approach among the UAVs. It is also evidenced that a reduced overhead is obtained when compared to a general compressive sensing (CS) approach.
Strategic Deployment of Swarm of UAVs for Secure IoT Networks
Authors: Xavier Alejandro Flores Cabezas, Diana Pamela Moya Osorio
Date: 2023-09-10 00:00:00

Security provisioning for low-complex and constrained devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) is exacerbating the concerns for the design of future wireless networks. To unveil the full potential of the sixth generation (6G), it is becoming even more evident that security measurements should be considered at all layers of the network. This work aims to contribute in this direction by investigating the employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for providing secure transmissions in ground IoT networks. Toward this purpose, it is considered that a set of UAVs acting as aerial base stations provide secure connectivity between the network and multiple ground nodes. Then, the association of IoT nodes, the 3D positioning of the UAVs and the power allocation of the UAVs are obtained by leveraging game theoretic and convex optimization-based tools with the goal of improving the secrecy of the system. It is shown that the proposed framework obtains better and more efficient secrecy performance over an IoT network than state-of-the-art greedy algorithms for positioning and association.
High-Precision Channel Estimation for Sub-Noise Self-Interference Cancellation
Authors: Dongsheng Zheng, Lifeng Lin, Wenyao Li, Bingli Jiao
Date: 2023-09-10 00:00:00

Self-interference cancellation plays a crucial role in achieving reliable full-duplex communications. In general, it is essential to cancel the self-interference signal below the thermal noise level, which necessitates accurate reconstruction of the self-interference signal. In this paper, we propose a high-precision channel estimation method specifically designed for sub-noise self-interference cancellation. Exploiting the fact that all transmitted symbols are known to their respective receivers, our method utilizes all transmitted symbols for self-interference channel estimation. Through analytical derivations and numerical simulations, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results demonstrate the superior performance of our approach in achieving sub-noise self-interference cancellation.
Soft-connected Rigid Body Localization: State-of-the-Art and Research Directions for 6G
Authors: Niclas Führling, Hyeon Seok Rou, Giuseppe Thadeu Freitas de Abreu, David González G., Osvaldo Gonsa
Date: 2023-09-10 00:00:00

This white paper describes a proposed article that will aim to provide a thorough study of the evolution of the typical paradigm of wireless localization (WL), which is based on a single point model of each target, towards wireless rigid body localization (W-RBL). We also look beyond the concept of RBL itself, whereby each target is modeled as an independent multi-point three-dimensional (3D), with shape enforced via a set of conformation constraints, as a step towards a more general approach we refer to as soft-connected RBL, whereby an ensemble of several objects embedded in a given environment, is modeled as a set of soft-connected 3D objects, with rigid and soft conformation constraints enforced within each object and among them, respectively. A first intended contribution of the full version of this article is a compact but comprehensive survey on mechanisms to evolve WL algorithms in W-RBL schemes, considering their peculiarities in terms of the type of information, mathematical approach, and features the build on or offer. A subsequent contribution is a discussion of mechanisms to extend W-RBL techniques to soft-connected rigid body localization (SCW-RBL) algorithms.
AFDM vs OTFS: A Comparative Study of Promising Waveforms for ISAC in Doubly-Dispersive Channels
Authors: Hyeon Seok Rou, Giuseppe Thadeu Freitas de Abreu, Junil Choi, David González G., Osvaldo Gonsa, Yong Liang Guan, Marios Kountouris
Date: 2023-09-10 00:00:00
Tasks: ISAC

**PLEASE FIND THE FULL EXTENDED ARTICLE "From OTFS to AFDM: A Comparative Study of Next-Generation Waveforms for ISAC in Doubly-Dispersive Channels" (Accepted for publication at the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine - Special Issue on Signal Processing for the Integrated Sensing and Communications Revolution)** This white paper aims to briefly describe a proposed article that will provide a thorough comparative study of waveforms designed to exploit the features of doubly-dispersive channels arising in heterogeneous high-mobility scenarios as expected in the beyond fifth generation (B5G) and sixth generation (6G), in relation to their suitability to integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) systems. In particular, the full article will compare the well-established delay-Doppler domain-based orthognal time frequency space (OTFS) and the recently proposed chirp domain-based affine frequency division multiplexing (AFDM) waveforms. Both these waveforms are designed based on a full delay- Doppler representation of the time variant (TV) multipath channel, yielding not only robustness and orthogonality of information symbols in high-mobility scenarios, but also a beneficial implication for environment target detection through the inherent capability of estimating the path delay and Doppler shifts, which are standard radar parameters. These modulation schemes are distinct candidates for ISAC in B5G/6G systems, such that a thorough study of their advantages, shortcomings, implications to signal processing, and performance of communication and sensing functions are well in order. In light of the above, a sample of the intended contribution (Special Issue paper) is provided below.
On the Impact of Mutual Coupling on RIS-Assisted Channel Estimation
Authors: Pinjun Zheng, Xiuxiu Ma, Tareq Y. Al-Naffouri
Date: 2023-09-10 00:00:00

Amid the demand for densely integrated elements in techniques such as holographic reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), the mutual coupling effect has gained prominence. By performing a misspecified Cramer-Rao bound analysis within an electromagnetics-compliant communication model, this letter offers a quantitative evaluation of the impact of mutual coupling on RIS-assisted channel estimation. Our analysis provides insights into situations where mutual coupling can be disregarded safely. The analyses and numerical results reveal that within practical scenarios, closer integration of RIS elements or the enlargement of RIS size accentuates the impact of neglecting mutual coupling. In addition, even with mutual coupling-aware setups, excessively tight RIS element spacing can lead to substantial degradation in the channel estimation performance.