arXiv subjects

Shiwen Mao

Publications and source records attributed to Shiwen Mao.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Joint Beamforming and Illumination Pattern Design for Beam-Hopping LEO Satellite Communications

Since hybrid beamforming (HBF) can approach the performance of fully-digital beamforming (FDBF) with much lower hardware complexity, we investigate the HBF design for beam-hopping (BH) low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications (SatComs). Aiming at maximizing the sum-rate of totally illuminated beam positions during the whole BH period, we consider joint beamforming and illumination pattern design subject to the HBF constraints and sum-rate requirements. To address the non-convexity of the HBF constraints, we temporarily replace the HBF constraints with the FDBF constraints. Then we propose an FDBF and illumination pattern random search (FDBF-IPRS) scheme to optimize illumination patterns and fully-digital beamformers using constrained random search and fractional programming methods. To further reduce the computational complexity, we propose an FDBF and illumination pattern alternating optimization (FDBF-IPAO) scheme, where we relax the integer illumination pattern to continuous variables and after finishing all the iterations we quantize the continuous variables into integer ones. Based on the fully-digital beamformers designed by the FDBF-IPRS or FDBF-IPAO scheme, we propose an HBF alternating minimization algorithm to design the hybrid beamformers. Simulation results show that the proposed schemes can achieve satisfactory sum-rate performance for BH LEO SatComs.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2024

Refracting Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted URLLC for Millimeter Wave High-Speed Train Communication Coverage Enhancement

High-speed train (HST) has garnered significant attention from both academia and industry due to the rapid development of railways worldwide. Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication, known for its large bandwidth is an effective way to address performance bottlenecks in cellular network based HST wireless communication systems. However, mmWave signals suffer from significant path loss when traversing carriage, posing substantial challenges to cellular networks. To address this issue, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) have gained considerable interest for its ability to enhance cell coverage by reflecting signals toward receiver. Ensuring communication reliability, a core performance indicators of ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) in fifth-generation systems, is crucial for providing steady and reliable data transmissions along railways, particularly for delivering safety and control messages and monitoring HST signaling information. In this paper, we investigate a refracting RIS-assisted multi-user multiple-input single-output URLLC system in mmWave HST communications. We propose a sum rate maximization problem, subject to base station beamforming constraint, as well as refracting RIS discrete phase shifts and reliability constraints. To solve this optimization problem, we design a joint optimization algorithm based on alternating optimization method. This involves decoupling the original optimization problem into active beamforming design and packet error probability optimization subproblem, and discrete phase shift design subproblems. These subproblems are addressed exploiting Lagrangian dual method and the local search method, respectively. Simulation results demonstrate the fast convergence of the proposed algorithm and highlight the benefits of refracting RIS adoption for sum rate improvement in mmWave HST networks.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2024

Edge Information Hub: Orchestrating Satellites, UAVs, MEC, Sensing and Communications for 6G Closed-Loop Controls

An increasing number of field robots would be used for mission-critical tasks in remote or post-disaster areas. Due to the limited individual abilities, these robots usually require an edge information hub (EIH), with not only communication but also sensing and computing functions. Such EIH could be deployed on a flexibly-dispatched unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Different from traditional aerial base stations or mobile edge computing (MEC), the EIH would direct the operations of robots via sensing-communication-computing-control ($\textbf{SC}^3$) closed-loop orchestration. This paper aims to optimize the closed-loop control performance of multiple $\textbf{SC}^3$ loops, with constraints on satellite-backhaul rate, computing capability, and on-board energy. Specifically, the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control cost is used to measure the closed-loop utility, and a sum LQR cost minimization problem is formulated to jointly optimize the splitting of sensor data and allocation of communication and computing resources. We first derive the optimal splitting ratio of sensor data, and then recast the problem to a more tractable form. An iterative algorithm is finally proposed to provide a sub-optimal solution. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm. We also uncover the influence of $\textbf{SC}^3$ parameters on closed-loop controls, highlighting more systematic understanding.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2024

Generative AI based Secure Wireless Sensing for ISAC Networks

Integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) is expected to be a key technology for 6G, and channel state information (CSI) based sensing is a key component of ISAC. However, current research on ISAC focuses mainly on improving sensing performance, overlooking security issues, particularly the unauthorized sensing of users. In this paper, we propose a secure sensing system (DFSS) based on two distinct diffusion models. Specifically, we first propose a discrete conditional diffusion model to generate graphs with nodes and edges, guiding the ISAC system to appropriately activate wireless links and nodes, which ensures the sensing performance while minimizing the operation cost. Using the activated links and nodes, DFSS then employs the continuous conditional diffusion model to generate safeguarding signals, which are next modulated onto the pilot at the transmitter to mask fluctuations caused by user activities. As such, only ISAC devices authorized with the safeguarding signals can extract the true CSI for sensing, while unauthorized devices are unable to achieve the same sensing. Experiment results demonstrate that DFSS can reduce the activity recognition accuracy of the unauthorized devices by approximately 70%, effectively shield the user from the unauthorized surveillance.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2024

Cached Model-as-a-Resource: Provisioning Large Language Model Agents for Edge Intelligence in Space-air-ground Integrated Networks

Edge intelligence in space-air-ground integrated networks (SAGINs) can enable worldwide network coverage beyond geographical limitations for users to access ubiquitous and low-latency intelligence services. Facing global coverage and complex environments in SAGINs, edge intelligence can provision approximate large language models (LLMs) agents for users via edge servers at ground base stations (BSs) or cloud data centers relayed by satellites. As LLMs with billions of parameters are pre-trained on vast datasets, LLM agents have few-shot learning capabilities, e.g., chain-of-thought (CoT) prompting for complex tasks, which raises a new trade-off between resource consumption and performance in SAGINs. In this paper, we propose a joint caching and inference framework for edge intelligence to provision sustainable and ubiquitous LLM agents in SAGINs. We introduce "cached model-as-a-resource" for offering LLMs with limited context windows and propose a novel optimization framework, i.e., joint model caching and inference, to utilize cached model resources for provisioning LLM agent services along with communication, computing, and storage resources. We design "age of thought" (AoT) considering the CoT prompting of LLMs, and propose a least AoT cached model replacement algorithm for optimizing the provisioning cost. We propose a deep Q-network-based modified second-bid (DQMSB) auction to incentivize network operators, which can enhance allocation efficiency by 23% while guaranteeing strategy-proofness and free from adverse selection.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

Cross-Modal Generative Semantic Communications for Mobile AIGC: Joint Semantic Encoding and Prompt Engineering

Employing massive Mobile AI-Generated Content (AIGC) Service Providers (MASPs) with powerful models, high-quality AIGC services can become accessible for resource-constrained end users. However, this advancement, referred to as mobile AIGC, also introduces a significant challenge: users should download large AIGC outputs from the MASPs, leading to substantial bandwidth consumption and potential transmission failures. In this paper, we apply cross-modal Generative Semantic Communications (G-SemCom) in mobile AIGC to overcome wireless bandwidth constraints. Specifically, we utilize a series of cross-modal attention maps to indicate the correlation between user prompts and each part of AIGC outputs. In this way, the MASP can analyze the prompt context and filter the most semantically important content efficiently. Only semantic information is transmitted, with which users can recover the entire AIGC output with high quality while saving mobile bandwidth. Since the transmitted information not only preserves the semantics but also prompts the recovery, we formulate a joint semantic encoding and prompt engineering problem to optimize the bandwidth allocation among users. Particularly, we present a human-perceptual metric named Joint Perpetual Similarity and Quality (JPSQ), which is fused by two learning-based measurements regarding semantic similarity and aesthetic quality, respectively. Furthermore, we develop the Attention-aware Deep Diffusion (ADD) algorithm, which learns attention maps and leverages the diffusion process to enhance the environment exploration ability. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our proposal can reduce the bandwidth consumption of mobile users by 49.4% on average, with almost no perceptual difference in AIGC output quality. Moreover, the ADD algorithm shows superior performance over baseline DRL methods, with 1.74x higher overall reward.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

Fusion of Mixture of Experts and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Mobile Edge Metaverse

In the digital transformation era, Metaverse offers a fusion of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and web technologies to create immersive digital experiences. However, the evolution of the Metaverse is slowed down by the challenges of content creation, scalability, and dynamic user interaction. Our study investigates an integration of Mixture of Experts (MoE) models with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) for mobile edge computing to revolutionize content creation and interaction in the Metaverse. Specifically, we harness an MoE model's ability to efficiently manage complex data and complex tasks by dynamically selecting the most relevant experts running various sub-models to enhance the capabilities of GAI. We then present a novel framework that improves video content generation quality and consistency, and demonstrate its application through case studies. Our findings underscore the efficacy of MoE and GAI integration to redefine virtual experiences by offering a scalable, efficient pathway to harvest the Metaverse's full potential.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

Blockchain-based Pseudonym Management for Vehicle Twin Migrations in Vehicular Edge Metaverse

Driven by the great advances in metaverse and edge computing technologies, vehicular edge metaverses are expected to disrupt the current paradigm of intelligent transportation systems. As highly computerized avatars of Vehicular Metaverse Users (VMUs), the Vehicle Twins (VTs) deployed in edge servers can provide valuable metaverse services to improve driving safety and on-board satisfaction for their VMUs throughout journeys. To maintain uninterrupted metaverse experiences, VTs must be migrated among edge servers following the movements of vehicles. This can raise concerns about privacy breaches during the dynamic communications among vehicular edge metaverses. To address these concerns and safeguard location privacy, pseudonyms as temporary identifiers can be leveraged by both VMUs and VTs to realize anonymous communications in the physical space and virtual spaces. However, existing pseudonym management methods fall short in meeting the extensive pseudonym demands in vehicular edge metaverses, thus dramatically diminishing the performance of privacy preservation. To this end, we present a cross-metaverse empowered dual pseudonym management framework. We utilize cross-chain technology to enhance management efficiency and data security for pseudonyms. Furthermore, we propose a metric to assess the privacy level and employ a Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning (MADRL) approach to obtain an optimal pseudonym generating strategy. Numerical results demonstrate that our proposed schemes are high-efficiency and cost-effective, showcasing their promising applications in vehicular edge metaverses.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

Positioning Using Wireless Networks: Applications, Recent Progress and Future Challenges

Positioning has recently received considerable attention as a key enabler in emerging applications such as extended reality, unmanned aerial vehicles and smart environments. These applications require both data communication and high-precision positioning, and thus they are particularly well-suited to be offered in wireless networks (WNs). The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of existing works and new trends in the field of positioning techniques from both the academic and industrial perspectives. The paper provides a comprehensive overview of positioning in WNs, covering the background, applications, measurements, state-of-the-art technologies and future challenges. The paper outlines the applications of positioning from the perspectives of public facilities, enterprises and individual users. We investigate the key performance indicators and measurements of positioning systems, followed by the review of the key enabler techniques such as artificial intelligence/large models and adaptive systems. Next, we discuss a number of typical wireless positioning technologies. We extend our overview beyond the academic progress, to include the standardization efforts, and finally, we provide insight into the challenges that remain. The comprehensive overview of exisitng efforts and new trends in the field of positioning from both the academic and industrial communities would be a useful reference to researchers in the field.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2024

Jointly Optimizing Terahertz based Sensing and Communications in Vehicular Networks: A Dynamic Graph Neural Network Approach

In this paper, the problem of vehicle service mode selection (sensing, communication, or both) and vehicle connections within terahertz (THz) enabled joint sensing and communications over vehicular networks is studied. The considered network consists of several service provider vehicles (SPVs) that can provide: 1) only sensing service, 2) only communication service, and 3) both services, sensing service request vehicles, and communication service request vehicles. Based on the vehicle network topology and their service accessibility, SPVs strategically select service request vehicles to provide sensing, communication, or both services. This problem is formulated as an optimization problem, aiming to maximize the number of successfully served vehicles by jointly determining the service mode of each SPV and its associated vehicles. To solve this problem, we propose a dynamic graph neural network (GNN) model that selects appropriate graph information aggregation functions according to the vehicle network topology, thus extracting more vehicle network information compared to traditional static GNNs that use fixed aggregation functions for different vehicle network topologies. Using the extracted vehicle network information, the service mode of each SPV and its served service request vehicles will be determined. Simulation results show that the proposed dynamic GNN based method can improve the number of successfully served vehicles by up to 17% and 28% compared to a GNN based algorithm with a fixed neural network model and a conventional optimization algorithm without using GNNs.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

A Unified Framework for Underwater Metaverse with Optical Perception

With the advancement of AI technology and increasing attention to deep-sea exploration, the underwater Metaverse is gradually emerging. This paper explores the concept of underwater Metaverse, emerging virtual reality systems and services aimed at simulating and enhancing virtual experience of marine environments. First, we discuss potential applications of underwater Metaverse in underwater scientific research and marine conservation. Next, we present the architecture and supporting technologies of the underwater Metaverse, including high-resolution underwater imageing technologies and image processing technologies for rendering a realistic virtual world. Based on this, we present a use case for building a realistic underwater virtual world using underwater quantum imaging-generated artificial intelligence (QI-GAI) technology. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the underwater Metaverse framework in simulating complex underwater environments, thus validating its potential in providing high-quality, interactive underwater virtual experiences. Finally, the paper examines the future development directions of underwater Metaverse, and provides new perspectives for marine science and conservation.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2024

When Large Language Model Agents Meet 6G Networks: Perception, Grounding, and Alignment

AI agents based on multimodal large language models (LLMs) are expected to revolutionize human-computer interaction and offer more personalized assistant services across various domains like healthcare, education, manufacturing, and entertainment. Deploying LLM agents in 6G networks enables users to access previously expensive AI assistant services via mobile devices democratically, thereby reducing interaction latency and better preserving user privacy. Nevertheless, the limited capacity of mobile devices constrains the effectiveness of deploying and executing local LLMs, which necessitates offloading complex tasks to global LLMs running on edge servers during long-horizon interactions. In this article, we propose a split learning system for LLM agents in 6G networks leveraging the collaboration between mobile devices and edge servers, where multiple LLMs with different roles are distributed across mobile devices and edge servers to perform user-agent interactive tasks collaboratively. In the proposed system, LLM agents are split into perception, grounding, and alignment modules, facilitating inter-module communications to meet extended user requirements on 6G network functions, including integrated sensing and communication, digital twins, and task-oriented communications. Furthermore, we introduce a novel model caching algorithm for LLMs within the proposed system to improve model utilization in context, thus reducing network costs of the collaborative mobile and edge LLM agents.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2024

Generative AI-enabled Blockchain Networks: Fundamentals, Applications, and Case Study

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has recently emerged as a promising solution to address critical challenges of blockchain technology, including scalability, security, privacy, and interoperability. In this paper, we first introduce GAI techniques, outline their applications, and discuss existing solutions for integrating GAI into blockchains. Then, we discuss emerging solutions that demonstrate the effectiveness of GAI in addressing various challenges of blockchain, such as detecting unknown blockchain attacks and smart contract vulnerabilities, designing key secret sharing schemes, and enhancing privacy. Moreover, we present a case study to demonstrate that GAI, specifically the generative diffusion model, can be employed to optimize blockchain network performance metrics. Experimental results clearly show that, compared to a baseline traditional AI approach, the proposed generative diffusion model approach can converge faster, achieve higher rewards, and significantly improve the throughput and latency of the blockchain network. Additionally, we highlight future research directions for GAI in blockchain applications, including personalized GAI-enabled blockchains, GAI-blockchain synergy, and privacy and security considerations within blockchain ecosystems.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2023

Dynamic Routing for Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial Networks: A Constrained Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Approach

The integrated satellite-terrestrial network (ISTN) system has experienced significant growth, offering seamless communication services in remote areas with limited terrestrial infrastructure. However, designing a routing scheme for ISTN is exceedingly difficult, primarily due to the heightened complexity resulting from the inclusion of additional ground stations, along with the requirement to satisfy various constraints related to satellite service quality. To address these challenges, we study packet routing with ground stations and satellites working jointly to transmit packets, while prioritizing fast communication and meeting energy efficiency and packet loss requirements. Specifically, we formulate the problem of packet routing with constraints as a max-min problem using the Lagrange method. Then we propose a novel constrained Multi-Agent reinforcement learning (MARL) dynamic routing algorithm named CMADR, which efficiently balances objective improvement and constraint satisfaction during the updating of policy and Lagrange multipliers. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments and an ablation study using the OneWeb and Telesat mega-constellations. Results demonstrate that CMADR reduces the packet delay by a minimum of 21% and 15%, while meeting stringent energy consumption and packet loss rate constraints, outperforming several baseline algorithms.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2023

AI Generated Signal for Wireless Sensing

Deep learning has significantly advanced wireless sensing technology by leveraging substantial amounts of high-quality training data. However, collecting wireless sensing data encounters diverse challenges, including unavoidable data noise, limited data scale due to significant collection overhead, and the necessity to reacquire data in new environments. Taking inspiration from the achievements of AI-generated content, this paper introduces a signal generation method that achieves data denoising, augmentation, and synthesis by disentangling distinct attributes within the signal, such as individual and environment. The approach encompasses two pivotal modules: structured signal selection and signal disentanglement generation. Structured signal selection establishes a minimal signal set with the target attributes for subsequent attribute disentanglement. Signal disentanglement generation disentangles the target attributes and reassembles them to generate novel signals. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can generate data that closely resembles real-world data on two wireless sensing datasets, exhibiting state-of-the-art performance. Our approach presents a robust framework for comprehending and manipulating attribute-specific information in wireless sensing.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2023

Diffusion-based Reinforcement Learning for Edge-enabled AI-Generated Content Services

As Metaverse emerges as the next-generation Internet paradigm, the ability to efficiently generate content is paramount. AIGenerated Content (AIGC) emerges as a key solution, yet the resource intensive nature of large Generative AI (GAI) models presents challenges. To address this issue, we introduce an AIGC-as-a-Service (AaaS) architecture, which deploys AIGC models in wireless edge networks to ensure broad AIGC services accessibility for Metaverse users. Nonetheless, an important aspect of providing personalized user experiences requires carefully selecting AIGC Service Providers (ASPs) capable of effectively executing user tasks, which is complicated by environmental uncertainty and variability. Addressing this gap in current research, we introduce the AI-Generated Optimal Decision (AGOD) algorithm, a diffusion model-based approach for generating the optimal ASP selection decisions. Integrating AGOD with Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL), we develop the Deep Diffusion Soft Actor-Critic (D2SAC) algorithm, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of ASP selection. Our comprehensive experiments demonstrate that D2SAC outperforms seven leading DRL algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed AGOD algorithm has the potential for extension to various optimization problems in wireless networks, positioning it as a promising approach for future research on AIGC-driven services. The implementation of our proposed method is available at: https://github.com/Lizonghang/AGOD.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2023

Sum Rate Maximization under AoI Constraints for RIS-Assisted mmWave Communications

The concept of age of information (AoI) has been proposed to quantify information freshness, which is crucial for time-sensitive applications. However, in millimeter wave (mmWave) communication systems, the link blockage caused by obstacles and the severe path loss greatly impair the freshness of information received by the user equipments (UEs). In this paper, we focus on reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-assisted mmWave communications, where beamforming is performed at transceivers to provide directional beam gain and a RIS is deployed to combat link blockage. We aim to maximize the system sum rate while satisfying the information freshness requirements of UEs by jointly optimizing the beamforming at transceivers, the discrete RIS reflection coefficients, and the UE scheduling strategy. To facilitate a practical solution, we decompose the problem into two subproblems. For the first per-UE data rate maximization problem, we further decompose it into a beamforming optimization subproblem and a RIS reflection coefficient optimization subproblem. Considering the difficulty of channel estimation, we utilize the hierarchical search method for the former and the local search method for the latter, and then adopt the block coordinate descent (BCD) method to alternately solve them. For the second scheduling strategy design problem, a low-complexity heuristic scheduling algorithm is designed. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve the system sum rate while satisfying the information freshness requirements of all UEs.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2023

The Age of Generative AI and AI-Generated Everything

Generative AI (GAI) has emerged as a significant advancement in artificial intelligence, renowned for its language and image generation capabilities. This paper presents ``AI-Generated Everything'' (AIGX), a concept that extends GAI beyond mere content creation to real-time adaptation and control across diverse technological domains. In networking, AIGX collaborates closely with physical, data link, network, and application layers to enhance real-time network management that responds to various system and service settings as well as application and user requirements. Networks, in return, serve as crucial components in further AIGX capability optimization through the AIGX lifecycle, i.e., data collection, distributed pre-training, and rapid decision-making, thereby establishing a mutually enhancing interplay. Moreover, we offer an in-depth case study focused on power allocation to illustrate the interdependence between AIGX and networking systems. Through this exploration, the article analyzes the significant role of GAI for networking, clarifies the ways networks augment AIGX functionalities, and underscores the virtuous interactive cycle they form. This article paves the way for subsequent future research aimed at fully unlocking the potential of GAI and networks.

cs.NI↗