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Christian Häger

Publications and source records attributed to Christian Häger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Model-based learning for DoA estimation and array calibration via continuous sparse recovery

Direction of arrival (DoA) estimation, a classical signal processing problem, has experienced renewed interest with the advent of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). While decades of research have yielded highly accurate DoA estimators, hardware impairments have frequently been neglected, despite degrading both DoA estimation accuracy and downstream communication performance in ISAC systems. This work introduces a joint array calibration and DoA estimation method based on the simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit (SOMP) algorithm, following the model-based machine learning paradigm. The proposed method enables the calibration of antenna arrays subject to severe gain-phase and antenna location impairments through projected gradient descent (PGD), with either supervised or unsupervised objectives. Additionally, DoA estimation is enhanced by extending SOMP to continuous dictionaries via PGD refinement steps. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method enables efficient hardware impairment compensation, even without labeled samples, while outperforming conventional sparse recovery and subspace-based DoA estimation baselines.

cs.AI↗
arXiv2026

Learning Joint Synchronization, Channel Estimation, and Decoding: Comparison with a Finite-Blocklength Achievability Bound

Learned schemes that jointly perform tasks such as synchronization and decoding have achieved promising results for short-packet communication. However, it remains unclear how close their performance is to information-theoretic bounds. To investigate this question, we extend the turbo autoencoder (TurboAE) proposed in Dörner et al. (2023) to a single-input single-output waveform channel with an unknown delay and memoryless block fading, for which an achievability bound from finite-blocklength information theory is available. Our extension incorporates a pilot-free, model-guided neural synchronizer and enables joint synchronization, channel estimation, and decoding. At a blocklength of $64$ complex symbols and a rate of one bit per channel use, the proposed TurboAE achieves a lower bit error rate (BER) than all evaluated pilot-assisted 5G baselines, with gains of $1.9$ dB at a BER of $10^{-3}$ over a baseline involving a low-density parity-check (LDPC) code and $1.7$ dB over a baseline involving a polar code and successive cancellation list decoding (list size $8$). In terms of block error rate (BLER), the TurboAE outperforms the LDPC-coded baseline, but lags behind the polar-coded baseline by about $0.8$ dB at a BLER of $10^{-3}$. Moreover, all evaluated schemes remain at least $2.1$ dB away from a pilot-assisted achievability bound, indicating substantial room for improved designs.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2026

Positioning via Digital-Twin-Aided Channel Charting with Large-Scale CSI Features

Channel charting (CC) is a self-supervised positioning technique whose main limitation is that the estimated positions lie in an arbitrary coordinate system that is not aligned with true spatial coordinates. In this work, we propose a novel method to produce CC locations in true spatial coordinates with the aid of a digital twin (DT). Our main contribution is a new framework that (i) extracts large-scale channel-state information (CSI) features from estimated CSI and the DT and (ii) matches these features with a cosine-similarity loss function. The DT-aided loss function is then combined with a conventional CC loss to learn a positioning function that provides true spatial coordinates without relying on labeled data. Our results for a simulated indoor scenario demonstrate that the proposed framework reduces the relative mean distance error by 29% compared to the state of the art. We also show that the proposed approach is robust to DT modeling mismatches and a distribution shift in the testing data.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2026

Unsupervised End-to-End Array Calibration for Multi-Target Integrated Sensing and Communication

In this work, we consider end-to-end calibration of an integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) base station (BS) under gain-phase and antenna displacement impairments without collecting signals from predefined positions (labeled data). We consider a BS with two impaired uniform linear arrays used for simultaneous multi-target sensing and communication with a user equipment (UE) leveraging orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing signals. The main contribution is the design of a framework that can compensate for the impairments without labeled data and considering coherent receive signals. We harness a differentiable precoder based on the maximum array response in an angular direction at the transmitter and the orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm at the sensing receiver. We propose an ISAC loss as a combination of sensing and communication losses that provides a trade-off between the two functionalities. We compare two sensing objective alternatives: (i) maximize the maximum response of the angle-delay map of the targets or (ii) minimize the norm of the residual signal at the output of the OMP algorithm after all estimated targets have been removed. The communication objective maximizes the energy of the received signal at the UE. Additionally, our framework leverages an approximation of the channel gradient that avoids the impractical knowledge of the gradient of the channel. Our results show that the proposed method performs closely to using labeled data and knowledge of the channel gradient in terms of sensing position estimation and communication symbol error rate. When comparing the two sensing losses, minimizing the norm of the OMP residual yields significantly better sensing position estimation with slightly increased complexity.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2025

Semantic Communication for Rate-Limited Closed-Loop Distributed Communication-Sensing-Control Systems

The growing integration of distributed integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) with closed-loop control in intelligent networks demands efficient information transmission under stringent bandwidth constraints. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a unified framework for goal-oriented semantic communication in distributed SCC systems. Building upon Weaver's three-level model, we establish a hierarchical semantic formulation with three error levels (L1: observation reconstruction, L2: state estimation, and L3: control) to jointly optimize their corresponding objectives. Based on this formulation, we propose a unified goal-oriented semantic compression and rate adaptation framework that is applicable to different semantic error levels and optimization goals across the SCC loop. A rate-limited multi-sensor LQR system is used as a case study to validate the proposed framework. We employ a GRU-based AE for semantic compression and a PPO-based rate adaptation algorithm that dynamically allocates transmission rates across sensors. Results show that the proposed framework effectively captures task-relevant semantics and adapts its resource allocation strategies across different semantic levels, thereby achieving level-specific performance gains under bandwidth constraints.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2025

Observation Compression in Rate-Limited Closed-Loop Distributed ISAC Systems: From Signal Reconstruction to Control

In closed-loop distributed multi-sensor integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems, performance often hinges on transmitting high-dimensional sensor observations over rate-limited networks. In this paper, we first present a general framework for rate-limited closed-loop distributed ISAC systems, and then propose an autoencoder-based observation compression method to overcome the constraints imposed by limited transmission capacity. Building on this framework, we conduct a case study using a closed-loop linear quadratic regulator (LQR) system to analyze how the interplay among observation, compression, and state dimensions affects reconstruction accuracy, state estimation error, and control performance. In multi-sensor scenarios, our results further show that optimal resource allocation initially prioritizes low-noise sensors until the compression becomes lossless, after which resources are reallocated to high-noise sensors.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2025

Integrated Radio Sensing Capabilities for 6G Networks: AI/ML Perspective

The sixth-generation wireless communications (6G) is often labeled as "connected intelligence". Radio sensing, aligned with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), promises, among other benefits, breakthroughs in the system's ability to perceive the environment and effectively utilize this awareness. This article offers a tutorial-style survey of AI and ML approaches to enhance the sensing capabilities of next-generation wireless networks. To this end, while staying in the framework of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), we expand the term "sensing" from radar, via spectrum sensing, to miscellaneous applications of radio sensing like non-cooperative transmitter localization. We formulate the problems, explain the state-of-the-art approaches, and detail AI-based techniques to tackle various objectives in the context of wireless sensing. We discuss the advantages, enablers, and challenges of integrating various sensing capabilities into an envisioned AI-powered multimodal multi-task network. In addition to the tutorial-style core of this work based on direct authors' involvement in 6G research problems, we review the related literature, and provide both a good start for those entering this field of research, and a topical overview for a general reader with a background in wireless communications

eess.SP↗
arXiv2025

Large Wireless Localization Model (LWLM): A Foundation Model for Positioning in 6G Networks

Accurate and robust localization is a critical enabler for emerging 5G and 6G applications, including autonomous driving, extended reality (XR), and smart manufacturing. While data-driven approaches have shown promise, most existing models require large amounts of labeled data and struggle to generalize across deployment scenarios and wireless configurations. To address these limitations, we propose a foundation-model-based solution tailored for wireless localization. We first analyze how different self-supervised learning (SSL) tasks acquire general-purpose and task-specific semantic features based on information bottleneck (IB) theory. Building on this foundation, we design a pretraining methodology for the proposed Large Wireless Localization Model (LWLM). Specifically, we propose an SSL framework that jointly optimizes three complementary objectives: (i) spatial-frequency masked channel modeling (SF-MCM), (ii) domain-transformation invariance (DTI), and (iii) position-invariant contrastive learning (PICL). These objectives jointly capture the underlying semantics of wireless channel from multiple perspectives. We further design lightweight decoders for key downstream tasks, including time-of-arrival (ToA) estimation, angle-of-arrival (AoA) estimation, single base station (BS) localization, and multiple BS localization. Comprehensive experimental results confirm that LWLM consistently surpasses both model-based and supervised learning baselines across all localization tasks. In particular, LWLM achieves 26.0%--87.5% improvement over transformer models without pretraining, and exhibits strong generalization under label-limited fine-tuning and unseen BS configurations, confirming its potential as a foundation model for wireless localization.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2025

Inverse Modeling of Dielectric Response in Time Domain using Physics-Informed Neural Networks

Dielectric response (DR) of insulating materials is key input information for designing electrical insulation systems and defining safe operating conditions of various HV devices. In dielectric materials, different polarization and conduction processes occur at different time scales, making it challenging to physically interpret raw measured data. To analyze DR measurement results, equivalent circuit models (ECMs) are commonly used, reducing the complexity of the physical system to a number of circuit elements that capture the dominant response. This paper examines the use of physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) for inverse modeling of DR in time domain using parallel RC circuits. To assess their performance, we test PINNs on synthetic data generated from analytical solutions of corresponding ECMs, incorporating Gaussian noise to simulate measurement errors. Our results show that PINNs are highly effective at solving well-conditioned inverse problems, accurately estimating up to five unknown RC parameters with minimal requirements on neural network size, training duration, and hyperparameter tuning. Furthermore, we extend the ECMs to incorporate temperature dependence and demonstrate that PINNs can accurately recover embedded, nonlinear temperature functions from noisy DR data sampled at different temperatures. This case study in modeling DR in time domain presents a solution with wide-ranging potential applications in disciplines relying on ECMs, utilizing the latest technology in machine learning for scientific computation.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2025

Physically Parameterized Differentiable MUSIC for DoA Estimation with Uncalibrated Arrays

Direction of arrival (DoA) estimation is a common sensing problem in radar, sonar, audio, and wireless communication systems. It has gained renewed importance with the advent of the integrated sensing and communication paradigm. To fully exploit the potential of such sensing systems, it is crucial to take into account potential hardware impairments that can negatively impact the obtained performance. This study introduces a joint DoA estimation and hardware impairment learning scheme following a model-based approach. Specifically, a differentiable version of the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm is derived, allowing efficient learning of the considered impairments. The proposed approach supports both supervised and unsupervised learning strategies, showcasing its practical potential. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method successfully learns significant inaccuracies in both antenna locations and complex gains. Additionally, the proposed method outperforms the classical MUSIC algorithm in the DoA estimation task.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2024

Model-Based End-to-End Learning for Multi-Target Integrated Sensing and Communication under Hardware Impairments

We study model-based end-to-end learning in the context of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) under hardware impairments. Hardware impairments are usually addressed by means of array calibration with a focus on communication performance. However, residual impairments may exist that affect sensing performance. This paper proposes a data-driven framework for mitigating such impairments. A monostatic orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) sensing and multiple-input single-output (MISO) communication scenario is considered, incorporating hardware imperfections at the ISAC transceiver antenna array. We propose a novel differentiable version of the orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm that is suitable for multi-target sensing and allows for efficient end-to-end learning of the hardware impairments. Based on the differentiable OMP, we devise two model-based parameterization strategies of the ISAC beamformer and sensing receiver to account for hardware impairments: (i) learning a dictionary of steering vectors for different angles and (ii) learning the parameterized hardware impairments. We carry out a comprehensive performance analysis of the proposed model-based learning approaches and a strong baseline consisting of least-squares beamforming, conventional OMP, and maximum-likelihood symbol detection for communication. Results show that by parameterizing the hardware impairments, learning approaches offer gains in terms of higher detection probability, position estimation accuracy, and lower symbol error rate (SER) compared to the baseline. We demonstrate that learning the parameterized hardware impairments outperforms learning a dictionary of steering vectors, also exhibiting the lowest complexity.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2024

Unsupervised Learning for Gain-Phase Impairment Calibration in ISAC Systems

Gain-phase impairments (GPIs) affect both communication and sensing in 6G integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). We study the effect of GPIs in a single-input, multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing ISAC system and develop a model-based unsupervised learning approach to simultaneously (i) estimate the gain-phase errors and (ii) localize sensing targets. The proposed method is based on the optimal maximum a-posteriori ratio test for a single target. Results show that the proposed approach can effectively estimate the gain-phase errors and yield similar position estimation performance as the case when the impairments are fully known.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2024

Decoding Quantum LDPC Codes Using Graph Neural Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel decoding method for Quantum Low-Density Parity-Check (QLDPC) codes based on Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). Similar to the Belief Propagation (BP)-based QLDPC decoders, the proposed GNN-based QLDPC decoder exploits the sparse graph structure of QLDPC codes and can be implemented as a message-passing decoding algorithm. We compare the proposed GNN-based decoding algorithm against selected classes of both conventional and neural-enhanced QLDPC decoding algorithms across several QLDPC code designs. The simulation results demonstrate excellent performance of GNN-based decoders along with their low complexity compared to competing methods.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Deep-Learning-Based Channel Estimation for Distributed MIMO with 1-bit Radio-Over-Fiber Fronthaul

We consider the problem of pilot-aided, uplink channel estimation in a distributed massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) architecture, in which the access points are connected to a central processing unit via fiber-optical fronthaul links, carrying a two-level-quantized version of the received analog radio-frequency signal. We adapt to this architecture the deep-learning-based channel-estimation algorithm recently proposed by Nguyen et al. (2023), and explore its robustness to the additional signal distortions (beyond 1-bit quantization) introduced in the considered architecture by the automatic gain controllers (AGCs) and by the comparators. These components are used at the access points to generate the two-level analog waveform from the received signal. Via simulation results, we illustrate that the proposed channel-estimation method outperforms significantly the Bussgang linear minimum mean-square error channel estimator, and it is robust against the additional impairments introduced by the AGCs and the comparators.

eess.SP↗
arXiv2024

Belief Propagation Decoding of Quantum LDPC Codes with Guided Decimation

Quantum low-density parity-check (QLDPC) codes have emerged as a promising technique for quantum error correction. A variety of decoders have been proposed for QLDPC codes and many of them utilize belief propagation (BP) decoding in some fashion. However, the use of BP decoding for degenerate QLDPC codes is known to have issues with convergence. These issues are typically attributed to short cycles in the Tanner graph and code degeneracy (i.e. multiple error patterns with the same syndrome). Although various methods have been proposed to mitigate the non-convergence issue, such as BP with ordered statistics decoding (BP-OSD) and BP with stabilizer inactivation (BP-SI), achieving better performance with lower complexity remains an active area of research. In this work, we propose a decoder for QLDPC codes based on BP guided decimation (BPGD), which has been previously studied for constraint satisfaction and lossy compression problems. The decimation process is applicable to both binary and quaternary BP and it involves sequentially fixing the value of the most reliable qubits to encourage BP convergence. Despite its simplicity, We find that BPGD significantly reduces the BP failure rate due to non-convergence, achieving performance on par with BP with ordered statistics decoding and BP with stabilizer inactivation, without the need to solve systems of linear equations.

cs.IT↗