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Bho Matthiesen

Publications and source records attributed to Bho Matthiesen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Semantic-Aware Task Clustering for Constructive and Cooperative Multi-Tasking

Cooperative multi-task semantic communication (CMT-SemCom) improves task execution performance by leveraging shared representations. However, as we demonstrated in [1], cooperative multi-tasking can be either constructive or destructive, depending on the semantic relationships among tasks. To ensure constructive cooperation, we propose a semantic-aware task clustering method for CMT-SemCom. We have formulated a sequential multi-stage optimization problem in which semantically aligned tasks are clustered once after a short initial training phase, and then end-to-end (E2E) joint training is conducted exclusively within the discovered groups. Specifically, the problem decomposes into two stages: (i) a semantic clustering problem leveraging hierarchical density-based spatial clustering, and (ii) an intra-cluster E2E CMT-SemCom learning problem. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed framework effectively mitigates destructive cooperation and negative transfer, yielding accuracy gains compared to unclustered multi-tasking and individual training baselines.

cs.LG

Dynamic FDD for Spectrum Sharing in Non-Terrestrial Networks

Future 6G networks are envisioned to integrate low Earth orbit satellite mega-constellations to enable seamless global connectivity, particularly in underserved and remote areas. However, the deployment of dense mega-constellations introduces interference among satellites operating over shared frequency bands. This represents a rather new setup for studying spectrum sharing, which exacerbates the limited flexibility of conventional FDD systems based on fixed bands for downlink and uplink transmissions. We address this spectrum-sharing problem and propose dynamic re-assignment of FDD bands for improved interference management in dense deployments, as well as evaluate the performance gain of this approach. To this end, we formulate a joint optimization problem that incorporates dynamic band assignment, user scheduling, and power allocation in both directions. This non-convex mixed integer problem is solved using a combination of equivalence transforms, alternating optimization, and state-of-the-art industrial-grade mixed integer solvers. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach of dynamic FDD band assignment significantly enhances system performance over conventional FDD, achieving up to 30\% improvement in throughput in dense deployments.

cs.IT

Semantic-Aware Task Clustering for Federated Cooperative Multi-Task Semantic Communication

Task-oriented semantic communication (SemCom) prioritizes task execution over accurate symbol reconstruction and is well-suited to emerging intelligent applications. Cooperative multi-task SemCom (CMT-SemCom) further improves task execution performance. However, [1] demonstrates that cooperative multi-tasking can be either constructive or destructive. Moreover, the existing CMT-SemCom framework is not directly applicable to distributed multi-user scenarios, such as non-terrestrial satellite networks, where each satellite employs an individual semantic encoder. In this paper, we extend our earlier CMT-SemCom framework to distributed settings by proposing a federated learning (FL) based CMT-SemCom that enables cooperative multi-tasking across distributed users. Moreover, to address performance degradation caused by negative information transfer among heterogeneous tasks, we propose a semantic-aware task clustering method integrated in the FL process to ensure constructive cooperation based on an information-theoretic approach. Unlike common clustering methods that rely on high-dimensional data or feature space similarity, our proposed approach operates in the low-dimensional semantic domain to identify meaningful task relationships. Simulation results based on a LEO satellite network setup demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach and performance gain over unclustered FL and individual single-task SemCom.

eess.SP

Dynamic Downlink-Uplink Spectrum Sharing between Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks

6G networks are expected to integrate low Earth orbit satellites to ensure global connectivity by extending coverage to underserved and remote regions. However, the deployment of dense mega-constellations introduces severe interference among satellites operating over shared frequency bands. This is, in part, due to the limited flexibility of conventional frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, where fixed bands for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions are employed. In this work, we propose dynamic re-assignment of FDD bands for improved interference management in dense deployments and evaluate the performance gain of this approach. To this end, we formulate a joint optimization problem that incorporates dynamic band assignment, user scheduling, and power allocation in both directions. This non-convex mixed integer problem is solved using a combination of equivalence transforms, alternating optimization, and state-of-the-art industrial-grade mixed integer solvers. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach of dynamic FDD band assignment significantly enhances system performance over conventional FDD, achieving up to 94\% improvement in throughput in dense deployments.

cs.IT

Resilient Radio Access Networks: AI and the Unknown Unknowns

5G networks offer exceptional reliability and availability, ensuring consistent performance and user satisfaction. Yet they might still fail when confronted with the unexpected. A resilient system is able to adapt to real-world complexity, including operating conditions completely unanticipated during system design. This makes resilience a vital attribute for communication systems that must sustain service in scenarios where models are absent or too intricate to provide statistical guarantees. Such considerations indicate that artifical intelligence (AI) will play a major role in delivering resilience. In this paper, we examine the challenges of designing AIs for resilient radio access networks, especially with respect to unanticipated and rare disruptions. Our theoretical results indicate strong limitations of current statistical learning methods for resilience and suggest connections to online learning and causal inference.

cs.IT

6G Resilience -- White Paper

6G must be designed to withstand, adapt to, and evolve amid prolonged, complex disruptions. Mobile networks' shift from efficiency-first to sustainability-aware has motivated this white paper to assert that resilience is a primary design goal, alongside sustainability and efficiency, encompassing technology, architecture, and economics. We promote resilience by analysing dependencies between mobile networks and other critical systems, such as energy, transport, and emergency services, and illustrate how cascading failures spread through infrastructures. We formalise resilience using the 3R framework: reliability, robustness, resilience. Subsequently, we translate this into measurable capabilities: graceful degradation, situational awareness, rapid reconfiguration, and learning-driven improvement and recovery. Architecturally, we promote edge-native and locality-aware designs, open interfaces, and programmability to enable islanded operations, fallback modes, and multi-layer diversity (radio, compute, energy, timing). Key enablers include AI-native control loops with verifiable behaviour, zero-trust security rooted in hardware and supply-chain integrity, and networking techniques that prioritise critical traffic, time-sensitive flows, and inter-domain coordination. Resilience also has a techno-economic aspect: open platforms and high-quality complementors generate ecosystem externalities that enhance resilience while opening new markets. We identify nine business-model groups and several patterns aligned with the 3R objectives, and we outline governance and standardisation. This white paper serves as an initial step and catalyst for 6G resilience. It aims to inspire researchers, professionals, government officials, and the public, providing them with the essential components to understand and shape the development of 6G resilience.

eess.SP

Sparse Incremental Aggregation in Satellite Federated Learning

This paper studies Federated Learning (FL) in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, where satellites are connected via intra-orbit inter-satellite links (ISLs) to their neighboring satellites. During the FL training process, satellites in each orbit forward gradients from nearby satellites, which are eventually transferred to the parameter server (PS). To enhance the efficiency of the FL training process, satellites apply in-network aggregation, referred to as incremental aggregation. In this work, the gradient sparsification methods from [1] are applied to satellite scenarios to improve bandwidth efficiency during incremental aggregation. The numerical results highlight an increase of over 4 x in bandwidth efficiency as the number of satellites in the orbital plane increases.

eess.SP

Energy-Aware Federated Learning in Satellite Constellations

Federated learning in satellite constellations, where the satellites collaboratively train a machine learning model, is a promising technology towards enabling globally connected intelligence and the integration of space networks into terrestrial mobile networks. The energy required for this computationally intensive task is provided either by solar panels or by an internal battery if the satellite is in Earth's shadow. Careful management of this battery and system's available energy resources is not only necessary for reliable satellite operation, but also to avoid premature battery aging. We propose a novel energy-aware computation time scheduler for satellite FL, which aims to minimize battery usage without any impact on the convergence speed. Numerical results indicate an increase of more than 3x in battery lifetime can be achieved over energy-agnostic task scheduling.

cs.DC

Sparse Incremental Aggregation in Multi-Hop Federated Learning

This paper investigates federated learning (FL) in a multi-hop communication setup, such as in constellations with inter-satellite links. In this setup, part of the FL clients are responsible for forwarding other client's results to the parameter server. Instead of using conventional routing, the communication efficiency can be improved significantly by using in-network model aggregation at each intermediate hop, known as incremental aggregation (IA). Prior works [1] have indicated diminishing gains for IA under gradient sparsification. Here we study this issue and propose several novel correlated sparsification methods for IA. Numerical results show that, for some of these algorithms, the full potential of IA is still available under sparsification without impairing convergence. We demonstrate a 15x improvement in communication efficiency over conventional routing and a 11x improvement over state-of-the-art (SoA) sparse IA.

cs.DC

Scheduling for On-Board Federated Learning with Satellite Clusters

Mega-constellations of small satellites have evolved into a source of massive amount of valuable data. To manage this data efficiently, on-board federated learning (FL) enables satellites to train a machine learning (ML) model collaboratively without having to share the raw data. This paper introduces a scheme for scheduling on-board FL for constellations connected with intra-orbit inter-satellite links. The proposed scheme utilizes the predictable visibility pattern between satellites and ground station (GS), both at the individual satellite level and cumulatively within the entire orbit, to mitigate intermittent connectivity and best use of available time. To this end, two distinct schedulers are employed: one for coordinating the FL procedures among orbits, and the other for controlling those within each orbit. These two schedulers cooperatively determine the appropriate time to perform global updates in GS and then allocate suitable duration to satellites within each orbit for local training, proportional to usable time until next global update. This scheme leads to improved test accuracy within a shorter time.

cs.DC

On-board Federated Learning for Satellite Clusters with Inter-Satellite Links

The emergence of mega-constellations of interconnected satellites has a major impact on the integration of cellular wireless and non-terrestrial networks, while simultaneously offering previously inconceivable data gathering capabilities. This paper studies the problem of running a federated learning (FL) algorithm within low Earth orbit satellite constellations connected with intra-orbit inter-satellite links (ISL), aiming to efficiently process collected data in situ. Satellites apply on-board machine learning and transmit local parameters to the parameter server (PS). The main contribution is a novel approach to enhance FL in satellite constellations using intra-orbit ISLs. The key idea is to rely on predictability of satellite visits to create a system design in which ISLs mitigate the impact of intermittent connectivity and transmit aggregated parameters to the PS. We first devise a synchronous FL, which is extended towards an asynchronous FL for the case of sparse satellite visits to the PS. An efficient use of the satellite resources is attained by sparsification-based compression the aggregated parameters within each orbit. Performance is evaluated in terms of accuracy and required data transmission size. We observe a sevenfold increase in convergence speed over the state-of-the-art using ISLs, and $10\times$ reduction in communication load through the proposed in-network aggregation strategy.

cs.IT

Robust Precoding via Characteristic Functions for VSAT to Multi-Satellite Uplink Transmission

The uplink from a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) towards multiple satellites is considered, in this paper. VSATs can be equipped with multiple antennas, allowing parallel transmission to multiple satellites. A low-complexity precoder based on imperfect positional information of the satellites is presented. The probability distribution of the position uncertainty and the statistics of the channel elements are related by the characteristic function of the position uncertainty. This knowledge is included in the precoder design to maximize the mean signal-to-leakage-and-noise ratio (SLNR) at the satellites. Furthermore, the performance w.r.t. the inter-satellite distance is numerically evaluated. It is shown that the proposed approach achieves the capacity for perfect position knowledge and sufficiently large inter-satellite distances. In case of imperfect position knowledge, the performance degradation of the robust precoder is relatively small.

eess.SP

A Comparison between RSMA, SDMA, and OMA in Multibeam LEO Satellite Systems

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems enable close to global coverage and are therefore expected to become important pillars of future communication standards. However, a particular challenge faced by LEO satellites is the high orbital velocities due to which a precise channel estimation is difficult. We model this influence as an erroneous angle of departure (AoD), which corresponds to imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter (CSIT). Poor CSIT and non-orthogonal user channels degrade the performance of space-division multiple access (SDMA) precoding by increasing inter-user interference (IUI). In contrast to SDMA, there is no IUI in orthogonal multiple access (OMA), but it requires orthogonal time or frequency resources for each user. Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA), unifying SDMA, OMA, and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), has recently been proven to be a flexible approach for robust interference management considering imperfect CSIT. In this paper, we investigate RSMA as a promising strategy to manage IUI in LEO satellite downlink systems caused by non-orthogonal user channels as well as imperfect CSIT. We evaluate the optimal configuration of RSMA depending on the geometrical constellation between the satellite and users.

cs.IT

Distributed Downlink Precoding and Equalization in Satellite Swarms

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for downlink transmission from a satellite swarm towards a ground station (GS). These swarms have the benefit of much higher spatial separation in the transmit antennas than traditional satellites with antenna arrays, promising a massive increase in spectral efficiency. The resulting precoder and equalizer have very low demands on computational complexity, inter-satellite coordination and channel estimation. This is achieved by taking knowledge about the geometry between satellites and GS into account. For precoding, each satellite only requires its angles of departure (AoDs) towards the GS and it turns out that almost optimal rates can be achieved if the satellites transmit independent data streams. For the equalizer, the GS requires only knowledge about the angles of arrival (AoAs) from all satellites. Furthermore, we show that, by choosing a proper inter-satellite distance, the proposed low-complexity approach achieves the theoretical upper bound in terms of data rate. This optimal inter-satellite distance is obtained analytically under simplifying assumption and provides a heuristic for practical scenarios. Furthermore, a novel approach to increase the robustness of the proposed precoder and equalizer against imperfect AoD and AoA knowledge is proposed by exploiting the statistics of the estimation error.

cs.IT

Globally Optimal Spectrum- and Energy-Efficient Beamforming for Rate Splitting Multiple Access

Rate splitting multiple access (RSMA) is a promising non-orthogonal transmission strategy for next-generation wireless networks. It has been shown to outperform existing multiple access schemes in terms of spectral and energy efficiency when suboptimal beamforming schemes are employed. In this work, we fill the gap between suboptimal and truly optimal beamforming schemes and conclusively establish the superior spectral and energy efficiency of RSMA. To this end, we propose a successive incumbent transcending (SIT) branch and bound (BB) algorithm to find globally optimal beamforming solutions that maximize the weighted sum rate or energy efficiency of RSMA in Gaussian multiple-input single-output (MISO) broadcast channels. Numerical results show that RSMA exhibits an explicit globally optimal spectral and energy efficiency gain over conventional multi-user linear precoding (MU-LP) and power-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). Compared to existing globally optimal beamforming algorithms for MU-LP, the proposed SIT BB not only improves the numerical stability but also achieves faster convergence. Moreover, for the first time, we show that the spectral/energy efficiency of RSMA achieved by suboptimal beamforming schemes (including weighted minimum mean squared error (WMMSE) and successive convex approximation) almost coincides with the corresponding globally optimal performance, making it a valid choice for performance comparisons. The globally optimal results provided in this work are imperative to the ongoing research on RSMA as they serve as benchmarks for existing suboptimal beamforming strategies and those to be developed in multi-antenna broadcast channels.

cs.IT

Scheduling for Ground-Assisted Federated Learning in LEO Satellite Constellations

Distributed training of machine learning models directly on satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) is considered. Based on a federated learning (FL) algorithm specifically targeted at the unique challenges of the satellite scenario, we design a scheduler that exploits the predictability of visiting times between ground stations (GS) and satellites to reduce model staleness. Numerical experiments show that this can improve the convergence speed by a factor three.

eess.SP

Federated Learning in Satellite Constellations

Federated learning (FL) has recently emerged as a distributed machine learning paradigm for systems with limited and intermittent connectivity. This paper presents the new context brought to FL by satellite constellations, where the connectivity patterns are significantly different from the ones observed in conventional terrestrial FL. The focus is on large constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), where each satellites participates in a data-driven FL task using a locally stored dataset. This scenario is motivated by the trend towards mega constellations of interconnected small satellites in LEO and the integration of artificial intelligence in satellites. We propose a classification of satellite FL based on the communication capabilities of the satellites, the constellation design, and the location of the parameter server. A comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in this field is provided and the unique challenges and opportunities of satellite FL are discussed. Finally, we outline several open research directions for FL in satellite constellations and present some future perspectives on this topic.

cs.IT

NGSO Constellation Design for Global Connectivity

Non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellations represent a cornerstone in the NewSpace paradigm and thus have become one of the hottest topics for the industry, academia, but also for national space agencies and regulators. For instance, numerous companies worldwide, including Starlink, OneWeb, Kepler, SPUTNIX, and Amazon have started or will soon start to deploy their own NGSO constellations, which aim to provide either broadband or IoT services. One of the major drivers for such a high interest on NGSO constellations is that, with an appropriate design, they are capable of providing global coverage and connectivity.

cs.NI