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Ping Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Ping Zhang.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

Sensing-assisted Accurate and Fast Beam Management for Cellular-connected mmWave UAV Network

Beam management, including initial access (IA) and beam tracking, is essential to the millimeter-wave Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) network. However, conventional communication-only and feedback-based schemes suffer a high delay and low accuracy of beam alignment since they only enable the receiver to passively hear the information of the transmitter from the radio domain. This paper presents a novel sensing-assisted beam management approach, the first solution that fully utilizes the information from the visual domain to improve communication performance. We employ both integrated sensing and communication and computer vision techniques and design an extended Kalman filtering method for beam tracking and prediction. Besides, we also propose a novel dual identity association solution to distinguish multiple UAVs in dynamic environments. Real-world experiments and numerical results show that the proposed solution outperforms the conventional methods in IA delay, association accuracy, tracking error, and communication performance.

eess.SP↗

Collaborative Precoding Design for Adjacent Integrated Sensing and Communication Base Stations

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) base stations can provide communication and wide range sensing information for vehicles via downlink (DL) transmission, thus enhancing vehicle driving safety. One major challenge for realizing high performance communication and sensing is how to deal with the DL mutual interference among adjacent ISAC base stations, which includes not only communication related interference, but also radar sensing related interference. In this paper, we establish a DL mutual interference model of adjacent ISAC base stations, and analyze the relationship for mutual interference channels between communications and radar sensing. To improve the sensing and communication performance, we propose a collaborative precoding design for coordinated adjacent base stations to mitigate the mutual interference under the transmit power constraint and constant modulus constraint, which is formulated as a non-convex optimization problem. We first relax the problem into a convex programming by omitting the rank constraint, and propose a joint optimization algorithm to solve the problem. We furthermore propose a sequential optimization algorithm, which divides the collaborative precoding design problem into four subproblems and finds the optimum via a gradient descent algorithm. Finally, we evaluate the collaborative precoding design algorithms by considering sensing and communication performance via numerical results.

cs.PF↗

Cooperation Based Joint Active and Passive Sensing with Asynchronous Transceivers for Perceptive Mobile Networks

Perceptive mobile network (PMN) is an emerging concept for next-generation wireless networks capable of conducting integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). A major challenge for realizing high performance sensing in PMNs is how to deal with spatially separated asynchronous transceivers. Asynchronicity results in timing offsets (TOs) and carrier frequency offsets (CFOs), which further cause ambiguity in ranging and velocity sensing. Most existing algorithms mitigate TOs and CFOs based on the line-of-sight (LOS) propagation path between sensing transceivers. However, LOS paths may not exist in realistic scenarios. In this paper, we propose a cooperation based joint active and passive sensing scheme for the non-LOS (NLOS) scenarios having asynchronous transceivers. This scheme relies on the cross-correlation cooperative sensing (CCCS) algorithm, which regards active sensing as a reference and mitigates TOs and CFOs by correlating active and passive sensing information. Another major challenge for realizing high performance sensing in PMNs is how to realize high accuracy angle-of-arrival (AoA) estimation with low complexity. Correspondingly, we propose a low complexity AoA algorithm based on cooperative sensing, which comprises coarse AoA estimation and fine AoA estimation. Analytical and numerical simulation results verify the performance advantages of the proposed CCCS algorithm and the low complexity AoA estimation algorithm.

cs.IT↗

Waveform Design for MIMO-OFDM Integrated Sensing and Communication System: An Information Theoretical Approach

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is regarded as the enabling technology in the future 5th-Generation-Advanced (5G-A) and 6th-Generation (6G) mobile communication system. ISAC waveform design is critical in ISAC system. However, the difference of the performance metrics between sensing and communication brings challenges for the ISAC waveform design. This paper applies the unified performance metrics in information theory, namely mutual information (MI), to measure the communication and sensing performance in multicarrier ISAC system. In multi-input multi-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) ISAC system, we first derive the sensing and communication MI with subcarrier correlation and spatial correlation. Then, we propose optimal waveform designs for maximizing the sensing MI, communication MI and the weighted sum of sensing and communication MI, respectively. The optimization results are validated by Monte Carlo simulations. Our work provides effective closed-form expressions for waveform design, enabling the realization of MIMO-OFDM ISAC system with balanced performance in communication and sensing.

cs.IT↗

Integrated Communication, Sensing, and Computation Framework for 6G Networks

In the sixth generation (6G) era, intelligent machine network (IMN) applications, such as intelligent transportation, require collaborative machines with communication, sensing, and computation (CSC) capabilities. This article proposes an integrated communication, sensing, and computation (ICSAC) framework for 6G to achieve the reciprocity among CSC functions to enhance the reliability and latency of communication, accuracy and timeliness of sensing information acquisition, and privacy and security of computing to realize the IMN applications. Specifically, the sensing and communication functions can merge into unified platforms using the same transmit signals, and the acquired real-time sensing information can be exploited as prior information for intelligent algorithms to enhance the performance of communication networks. This is called the computing-empowered integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) reciprocity. Such reciprocity can further improve the performance of distributed computation with the assistance of networked sensing capability, which is named the sensing-empowered integrated communications and computation (ICAC) reciprocity. The above ISAC and ICAC reciprocities can enhance each other iteratively and finally lead to the ICSAC reciprocity. To achieve these reciprocities, we explore the potential enabling technologies for the ICSAC framework. Finally, we present the evaluation results of crucial enabling technologies to show the feasibility of the ICSAC framework.

cs.NI↗

Enhancing Semantic Communication with Deep Generative Models -- An ICASSP Special Session Overview

Semantic communication is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of future AI-driven communication systems. Its challenge of extracting semantic information from the original complex content and regenerating semantically consistent data at the receiver, possibly being robust to channel corruptions, can be addressed with deep generative models. This ICASSP special session overview paper discloses the semantic communication challenges from the machine learning perspective and unveils how deep generative models will significantly enhance semantic communication frameworks in dealing with real-world complex data, extracting and exploiting semantic information, and being robust to channel corruptions. Alongside establishing this emerging field, this paper charts novel research pathways for the next generative semantic communication frameworks.

cs.LG↗

Sensiverse: A dataset for ISAC study

In order to address the lack of applicable channel models for ISAC research and evaluation, we release Sensiverse, a dataset that can be used for ISAC research. In this paper, we present the method of generating Sensiverse, including the acquisition and formatting of the 3D scene models, the generation of the channel data and associations with Tx/Rx deployment. The file structure and usage of the dataset are also described, and finally the use of the dataset is illustrated with examples through the evaluation of use cases such as 3D environment reconstruction and moving targets.

eess.SP↗

Improved Nonlinear Transform Source-Channel Coding to Catalyze Semantic Communications

Recent deep learning methods have led to increased interest in solving high-efficiency end-to-end transmission problems. These methods, we call nonlinear transform source-channel coding (NTSCC), extract the semantic latent features of source signal, and learn entropy model to guide the joint source-channel coding with variable rate to transmit latent features over wireless channels. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive framework for improving NTSCC, thereby higher system coding gain, better model versatility, and more flexible adaptation strategy aligned with semantic guidance are all achieved. This new sophisticated NTSCC model is now ready to support large-size data interaction in emerging XR, which catalyzes the application of semantic communications. Specifically, we propose three useful improvement approaches. First, we introduce a contextual entropy model to better capture the spatial correlations among the semantic latent features, thereby more accurate rate allocation and contextual joint source-channel coding are developed accordingly to enable higher coding gain. On that basis, we further propose response network architectures to formulate versatile NTSCC, i.e., once-trained model supports various rates and channel states that benefits the practical deployment. Following this, we propose an online latent feature editing method to enable more flexible coding rate control aligned with some specific semantic guidance. By comprehensively applying the above three improvement methods for NTSCC, a deployment-friendly semantic coded transmission system stands out finally. Our improved NTSCC system has been experimentally verified to achieve considerable bandwidth saving versus the state-of-the-art engineered VTM + 5G LDPC coded transmission system with lower processing latency.

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MDVSC -- Wireless Model Division Video Semantic Communication

This paper introduces a novel method for transmitting video data over noisy wireless channels with high efficiency and controllability. The method derivates from model division multiple access (MDMA) to extract common semantic features from video frames. It also uses deep joint source-channel coding (JSCC) as the main framework to establish communication links and deal with channel noise. An entropy-based variable length coding scheme is developed to adjust the data amount accurately and explicitly. We name our method as model division video semantic communication (MDVSC). The main steps of our approach are as follows: first, video frames are transformed into a latent space to reduce computational complexity and redistribute data. Then, common features and individual features are extracted, and variable length coding is applied to further eliminate redundant semantic information under the communication bandwidth constraint. We evaluate our method on standard video test sequences and compare it with traditional wireless video coding methods. The results show that MDVSC generally surpasses the conventional methods in terms of quality metrics and has the capability to control code length precisely. Moreover, additional experiments and ablation studies are conducted to demonstrate its potential for various tasks.

cs.CE↗

Sub-second periodic radio oscillations in a microquasar

Powerful relativistic jets are one of the ubiquitous features of accreting black holes in all scales. GRS 1915+105 is a well-known fast-spinning black-hole X-ray binary with a relativistic jet, termed as a ``microquasar'', as indicated by its superluminal motion of radio emission. It exhibits persistent x-ray activity over the last 30 years, with quasi-periodic oscillations of $\sim 1-10$ Hz and 34 and 67 Hz in the x-ray band. These oscillations likely originate in the inner accretion disk, but other origins have been considered. Radio observations found variable light curves with quasi-periodic flares or oscillations with periods of $\sim 20-50$ minutes. Here we report two instances of $\sim$5 Hz transient periodic oscillation features from the source detected in the 1.05-1.45 GHz radio band that occurred in January 2021 and June 2022, respectively. Circular polarization was also observed during the oscillation phase.

astro-ph.HE↗

DRL Enabled Coverage and Capacity Optimization in STAR-RIS Assisted Networks

Simultaneously transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (STAR-RISs) is a promising passive device that contributes to a full-space coverage via transmitting and reflecting the incident signal simultaneously. As a new paradigm in wireless communications, how to analyze the coverage and capacity performance of STAR-RISs becomes essential but challenging. To solve the coverage and capacity optimization (CCO) problem in STAR-RIS assisted networks, a multi-objective proximal policy optimization (MO-PPO) algorithm is proposed to handle long-term benefits than conventional optimization algorithms. To strike a balance between each objective, the MO-PPO algorithm provides a set of optimal solutions to form a Pareto front (PF), where any solution on the PF is regarded as an optimal result. Moreover, in order to improve the performance of the MO-PPO algorithm, two update strategies, i.e., action-value-based update strategy (AVUS) and loss function-based update strategy (LFUS), are investigated. For the AVUS, the improved point is to integrate the action values of both coverage and capacity and then update the loss function. For the LFUS, the improved point is only to assign dynamic weights for both loss functions of coverage and capacity, while the weights are calculated by a min-norm solver at every update. The numerical results demonstrated that the investigated update strategies outperform the fixed weights MO optimization algorithms in different cases, which includes a different number of sample grids, the number of STAR-RISs, the number of elements in the STAR-RISs, and the size of STAR-RISs. Additionally, the STAR-RIS assisted networks achieve better performance than conventional wireless networks without STAR-RISs. Moreover, with the same bandwidth, millimeter wave is able to provide higher capacity than sub-6 GHz, but at a cost of smaller coverage.

cs.IT↗

ISAC-NET: Model-driven Deep Learning for Integrated Passive Sensing and Communication

Recent advances in wireless communication with the enormous demands of sensing ability have given rise to the integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) technology, among which passive sensing plays an important role. The main challenge of passive sensing is how to achieve high sensing performance in the condition of communication demodulation errors. In this paper, we propose an ISAC network (ISAC-NET) that combines passive sensing with communication signal detection by using model-driven deep learning (DL). Dissimilar to existing passive sensing algorithms that first demodulate the transmitted symbols and then obtain passive sensing results from the demodulated symbols, ISAC-NET obtains passive sensing results and communication demodulated symbols simultaneously. Different from the data-driven DL method, we adopt the block-by-block signal processing method that divides the ISAC-NET into the passive sensing module, signal detection module and channel reconstruction module. From the simulation results, ISAC-NET obtains better communication performance than the traditional signal demodulation algorithm, which is close to OAMP-Net2. Compared to the 2D-DFT algorithm, ISAC-NET demonstrates significantly enhanced sensing performance. In summary, ISAC-NET is a promising tool for passive sensing and communication in wireless communications.

cs.IT↗

Cross-Element Combinatorial Selection for Multi-Element Creative in Display Advertising

The effectiveness of ad creatives is greatly influenced by their visual appearance. Advertising platforms can generate ad creatives with different appearances by combining creative elements provided by advertisers. However, with the increasing number of ad creative elements, it becomes challenging to select a suitable combination from the countless possibilities. The industry's mainstream approach is to select individual creative elements independently, which often overlooks the importance of interaction between creative elements during the modeling process. In response, this paper proposes a Cross-Element Combinatorial Selection framework for multiple creative elements, termed CECS. In the encoder process, a cross-element interaction is adopted to dynamically adjust the expression of a single creative element based on the current candidate creatives. In the decoder process, the creative combination problem is transformed into a cascade selection problem of multiple creative elements. A pointer mechanism with a cascade design is used to model the associations among candidates. Comprehensive experiments on real-world datasets show that CECS achieved the SOTA score on offline metrics. Moreover, the CECS algorithm has been deployed in our industrial application, resulting in a significant 6.02% CTR and 10.37% GMV lift, which is beneficial to the business.

cs.IR↗

SUGAR: Spherical Ultrafast Graph Attention Framework for Cortical Surface Registration

Cortical surface registration plays a crucial role in aligning cortical functional and anatomical features across individuals. However, conventional registration algorithms are computationally inefficient. Recently, learning-based registration algorithms have emerged as a promising solution, significantly improving processing efficiency. Nonetheless, there remains a gap in the development of a learning-based method that exceeds the state-of-the-art conventional methods simultaneously in computational efficiency, registration accuracy, and distortion control, despite the theoretically greater representational capabilities of deep learning approaches. To address the challenge, we present SUGAR, a unified unsupervised deep-learning framework for both rigid and non-rigid registration. SUGAR incorporates a U-Net-based spherical graph attention network and leverages the Euler angle representation for deformation. In addition to the similarity loss, we introduce fold and multiple distortion losses, to preserve topology and minimize various types of distortions. Furthermore, we propose a data augmentation strategy specifically tailored for spherical surface registration, enhancing the registration performance. Through extensive evaluation involving over 10,000 scans from 7 diverse datasets, we showed that our framework exhibits comparable or superior registration performance in accuracy, distortion, and test-retest reliability compared to conventional and learning-based methods. Additionally, SUGAR achieves remarkable sub-second processing times, offering a notable speed-up of approximately 12,000 times in registering 9,000 subjects from the UK Biobank dataset in just 32 minutes. This combination of high registration performance and accelerated processing time may greatly benefit large-scale neuroimaging studies.

eess.IV↗

Toward Trusted and Swift UAV Communication: ISAC-Enabled Dual Identity Mapping

The UAV network has recently emerged as a capable carrier for ubiquitous wireless intelligent communication in the B5G/6G era. Nevertheless, the separation of dual identity raises challenges from the perspective of communication efficiency and security, including tedious communication feedback and malicious Sybil attacks. Meanwhile, thanks to the emerging integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) technology, the sensing ability incorporated in communication advances crucial opportunities for accurately and efficiently mapping identity from dual domains. This tutorial discusses the exciting intersection of ISAC and the future intelligent and efficient UAV network. We first describe the motivation scenario and present the framework of the proposed novel ISAC-enabled dual identity solution. The detailed modules of identity production, mapping, management, and authentication are discussed. By endowing UAVs with an advanced capability: opening their eyes when communicating with each other, we detail three typical applications and the advantages of our proposal. Finally, a series of key enabling techniques, open challenges, and potential solutions for ISAC-enabled dual-domain identity are discussed. This tutorial for the intelligent and efficient UAV network brings new insight on providing dual-domain identity via ISAC technology, with an eye on trusted and swift communication research tailored for the 6G UAV network.

eess.SP↗

Toward Intelligent and Efficient 6G Networks: JCSC Enabled On-Purpose Machine Communications

Driven by the vision of "intelligent connection of everything" toward 6G, the collective intelligence of networked machines can be fully exploited to improve system efficiency by shifting the paradigm of wireless communication design from naive maximalist approaches to intelligent value-based approaches. In this article, we propose an on-purpose machine communication framework enabled by joint communication, sensing, and computation (JCSC) technology, which employs machine semantics as the interactive information flow. Naturally, there are potential technical barriers to be solved before the widespread adoption of on-purpose communications, including the conception of machine purpose, fast and concise networking strategy, and semantics-aware information exchange mechanism during the process of task-oriented cooperation. Hence, we discuss enabling technologies complemented by a range of open challenges. The simulation result shows that the proposed framework can significantly reduce networking overhead and improve communication efficiency.

eess.SP↗

Seeing is Believing: Detecting Sybil Attack in FANET by Matching Visual and Auditory Domains

The flying ad hoc network (FANET) will play a crucial role in the B5G/6G era since it provides wide coverage and on-demand deployment services in a distributed manner. The detection of Sybil attacks is essential to ensure trusted communication in FANET. Nevertheless, the conventional methods only utilize the untrusted information that UAV nodes passively ``heard'' from the ``auditory" domain (AD), resulting in severe communication disruptions and even collision accidents. In this paper, we present a novel VA-matching solution that matches the neighbors observed from both the AD and the ``visual'' domain (VD), which is the first solution that enables UAVs to accurately correlate what they ``see'' from VD and ``hear'' from AD to detect the Sybil attacks. Relative entropy is utilized to describe the similarity of observed characteristics from dual domains. The dynamic weight algorithm is proposed to distinguish neighbors according to the characteristics' popularity. The matching model of neighbors observed from AD and VD is established and solved by the vampire bat optimizer. Experiment results show that the proposed VA-matching solution removes the unreliability of individual characteristics and single domains. It significantly outperforms the conventional RSSI-based method in detecting Sybil attacks. Furthermore, it has strong robustness and achieves high precision and recall rates.

cs.CR↗

Specific Beamforming for Multi-UAV Networks: A Dual Identity-based ISAC Approach

Beam alignment is essential to compensate for the high path loss in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) network. The integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) technology has been envisioned as a promising solution to enable efficient beam alignment in the dynamic UAV network. However, since the digital identity (D-ID) is not contained in the reflected echoes, the conventional ISAC solution has to either periodically feed back the D-ID to distinguish beams for multi-UAVs or suffer the beam errors induced by the separation of D-ID and physical identity (P-ID). This paper presents a novel dual identity association (DIA)-based ISAC approach, the first solution that enables specific, fast, and accurate beamforming towards multiple UAVs. In particular, the P-IDs extracted from echo signals are distinguished dynamically by calculating the feature similarity according to their prevalence, and thus the DIA is accurately achieved. We also present the extended Kalman filtering scheme to track and predict P-IDs, and the specific beam is thereby effectively aligned toward the intended UAVs in dynamic networks. Numerical results show that the proposed DIA-based ISAC solution significantly outperforms the conventional methods in association accuracy and communication performance.

eess.SP↗