SYDec 24, 2015
Energy Storage Sharing in Smart Grid: A Modified Auction Based ApproachWayes Tushar, Bo Chai, Chau Yuen et al.
This paper studies the solution of joint energy storage (ES) ownership sharing between multiple shared facility controllers (SFCs) and those dwelling in a residential community. The main objective is to enable the residential units (RUs) to decide on the fraction of their ES capacity that they want to share with the SFCs of the community in order to assist them storing electricity, e.g., for fulfilling the demand of various shared facilities. To this end, a modified auction-based mechanism is designed that captures the interaction between the SFCs and the RUs so as to determine the auction price and the allocation of ES shared by the RUs that governs the proposed joint ES ownership. The fraction of the capacity of the storage that each RU decides to put into the market to share with the SFCs and the auction price are determined by a noncooperative Stackelberg game formulated between the RUs and the auctioneer. It is shown that the proposed auction possesses the incentive compatibility and the individual rationality properties, which are leveraged via the unique Stackelberg equilibrium (SE) solution of the game. Numerical experiments are provided to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
AINov 25, 2022
Less Data, More Knowledge: Building Next Generation Semantic Communication NetworksChristina Chaccour, Walid Saad, Merouane Debbah et al.
Semantic communication is viewed as a revolutionary paradigm that can potentially transform how we design and operate wireless communication systems. However, despite a recent surge of research activities in this area, the research landscape remains limited. In this tutorial, we present the first rigorous vision of a scalable end-to-end semantic communication network that is founded on novel concepts from artificial intelligence (AI), causal reasoning, and communication theory. We first discuss how the design of semantic communication networks requires a move from data-driven networks towards knowledge-driven ones. Subsequently, we highlight the necessity of creating semantic representations of data that satisfy the key properties of minimalism, generalizability, and efficiency so as to do more with less. We then explain how those representations can form the basis a so-called semantic language. By using semantic representation and languages, we show that the traditional transmitter and receiver now become a teacher and apprentice. Then, we define the concept of reasoning by investigating the fundamentals of causal representation learning and their role in designing semantic communication networks. We demonstrate that reasoning faculties are majorly characterized by the ability to capture causal and associational relationships in datastreams. For such reasoning-driven networks, we propose novel and essential semantic communication metrics that include new "reasoning capacity" measures that could go beyond Shannon's bound to capture the convergence of computing and communication. Finally, we explain how semantic communications can be scaled to large-scale networks (6G and beyond). In a nutshell, we expect this tutorial to provide a comprehensive reference on how to properly build, analyze, and deploy future semantic communication networks.
ITAug 17, 2022
Performance Optimization for Semantic Communications: An Attention-based Reinforcement Learning ApproachYining Wang, Mingzhe Chen, Tao Luo et al.
In this paper, a semantic communication framework is proposed for textual data transmission. In the studied model, a base station (BS) extracts the semantic information from textual data, and transmits it to each user. The semantic information is modeled by a knowledge graph (KG) that consists of a set of semantic triples. After receiving the semantic information, each user recovers the original text using a graph-to-text generation model. To measure the performance of the considered semantic communication framework, a metric of semantic similarity (MSS) that jointly captures the semantic accuracy and completeness of the recovered text is proposed. Due to wireless resource limitations, the BS may not be able to transmit the entire semantic information to each user and satisfy the transmission delay constraint. Hence, the BS must select an appropriate resource block for each user as well as determine and transmit part of the semantic information to the users. As such, we formulate an optimization problem whose goal is to maximize the total MSS by jointly optimizing the resource allocation policy and determining the partial semantic information to be transmitted. To solve this problem, a proximal-policy-optimization-based reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm integrated with an attention network is proposed. The proposed algorithm can evaluate the importance of each triple in the semantic information using an attention network and then, build a relationship between the importance distribution of the triples in the semantic information and the total MSS. Compared to traditional RL algorithms, the proposed algorithm can dynamically adjust its learning rate thus ensuring convergence to a locally optimal solution.
GTSep 18, 2017
Managing Price Uncertainty in Prosumer-Centric Energy Trading: A Prospect-Theoretic Stackelberg Game ApproachGeorges El Rahi, S. Rasoul Etesami, Walid Saad et al.
In this paper, the problem of energy trading between smart grid prosumers, who can simultaneously consume and produce energy, and a grid power company is studied. The problem is formulated as a single-leader, multiple-follower Stackelberg game between the power company and multiple prosumers. In this game, the power company acts as a leader who determines the pricing strategy that maximizes its profits, while the prosumers act as followers who react by choosing the amount of energy to buy or sell so as to optimize their current and future profits. The proposed game accounts for each prosumer's subjective decision when faced with the uncertainty of profits, induced by the random future price. In particular, the framing effect, from the framework of prospect theory (PT), is used to account for each prosumer's valuation of its gains and losses with respect to an individual utility reference point. The reference point changes between prosumers and stems from their past experience and future aspirations of profits. The followers' noncooperative game is shown to admit a unique pure-strategy Nash equilibrium (NE) under classical game theory (CGT) which is obtained using a fully distributed algorithm. The results are extended to account for the case of PT using algorithmic solutions that can achieve an NE under certain conditions. Simulation results show that the total grid load varies significantly with the prosumers' reference point and their loss-aversion level. In addition, it is shown that the power company's profits considerably decrease when it fails to account for the prosumers' subjective perceptions under PT.
SPMar 19, 2018
Transforming Energy Networks via Peer to Peer Energy Trading: Potential of Game Theoretic ApproachesWayes Tushar, Chau Yuen, Hamed Mohsenian-Rad et al.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading has emerged as a next-generation energy management mechanism for the smart grid that enables each prosumer of the network to participate in energy trading with one another and the grid. This poses a significant challenge in terms of modeling the decision-making process of each participant with conflicting interest and motivating prosumers to participate in energy trading and to cooperate, if necessary, for achieving different energy management goals. Therefore, such decision-making process needs to be built on solid mathematical and signal processing tools that can ensure an efficient operation of the smart grid. This paper provides an overview of the use of game theoretic approaches for P2P energy trading as a feasible and effective means of energy management. As such, we discuss various games and auction theoretic approaches by following a systematic classification to provide information on the importance of game theory for smart energy research. Then, the paper focuses on the P2P energy trading describing its key features and giving an introduction to an existing P2P testbed. Further, the paper zooms into the detail of some specific game and auction theoretic models that have recently been used in P2P energy trading and discusses some important finding of these schemes.
SYDec 10, 2015
Price discrimination for energy trading in smart grid: A game theoretic approachWayes Tushar, Chau Yuen, David Smith et al.
Pricing schemes are an important smart grid feature to affect typical energy usage behavior of energy users (EUs). However, most existing schemes use the assumption that a buyer pays the same price per unit of energy to all suppliers at any particular time when energy is bought. By contrast, here a discriminate pricing technique using game theory is studied. A cake cutting game is investigated, in which participating EUs in a smart community decide on the price per unit of energy to charge a shared facility controller (SFC) in order to sell surplus energy. The focus is to study fairness criteria to maximize sum benefits to EUs and ensure an envy-free energy trading market. A benefit function is designed that leverages generation of discriminate pricing by each EU, according to the amount of surplus energy that an EU trades with the SFC and the EU's sensitivity to price. It is shown that the game possesses a socially optimal, and hence also Pareto optimal, solution. Further, an algorithm that can be implemented by each EU in a distributed manner to reach the optimal solution is proposed. Numerical case studies are given that demonstrate beneficial properties of the scheme.
SYNov 1, 2015
Towards a Consumer-Centric Grid: A Behavioral PerspectiveWalid Saad, Arnold Glass, Narayan Mandayam et al.
Active consumer participation is seen as an integral part of the emerging smart grid. Examples include demand-side management programs, incorporation of consumer-owned energy storage or renewable energy units, and active energy trading. However, despite the foreseen technological benefits of such consumer-centric grid features, to date, their widespread adoption in practice remains modest. To shed light on this challenge, this paper explores the potential of prospect theory, a Nobel-prize winning theory, as a decision-making framework that can help understand how risk and uncertainty can impact the decisions of smart grid consumers. After introducing the basic notions of prospect theory, several examples drawn from a number of smart grid applications are developed. These results show that a better understanding of the role of human decision-making within the smart grid is paramount for optimizing its operation and expediting the deployment of its various technologies.
ROJun 3, 2022
Federated Deep Learning Meets Autonomous Vehicle Perception: Design and VerificationShuai Wang, Chengyang Li, Derrick Wing Kwan Ng et al.
Realizing human-like perception is a challenge in open driving scenarios due to corner cases and visual occlusions. To gather knowledge of rare and occluded instances, federated learning assisted connected autonomous vehicle (FLCAV) has been proposed, which leverages vehicular networks to establish federated deep neural networks (DNNs) from distributed data captured by vehicles and road sensors. Without the need of data aggregation, FLCAV preserves privacy while reducing communication costs compared with conventional centralized learning. However, it is challenging to determine the network resources and road sensor placements for multi-stage training with multi-modal datasets in multi-variant scenarios. This article presents networking and training frameworks for FLCAV perception. Multi-layer graph resource allocation and vehicle-road contrastive sensor placement are proposed to address the network management and sensor deployment problems, respectively. We also develop CarlaFLCAV, a software platform that implements the above system and methods. Experimental results confirm the superiority of the proposed techniques compared with various benchmarks.
NIAug 13, 2024Code
DiffSG: A Generative Solver for Network Optimization with Diffusion ModelRuihuai Liang, Bo Yang, Zhiwen Yu et al.
Generative diffusion models, famous for their performance in image generation, are popular in various cross-domain applications. However, their use in the communication community has been mostly limited to auxiliary tasks like data modeling and feature extraction. These models hold greater promise for fundamental problems in network optimization compared to traditional machine learning methods. Discriminative deep learning often falls short due to its single-step input-output mapping and lack of global awareness of the solution space, especially given the complexity of network optimization's objective functions. In contrast, generative diffusion models can consider a broader range of solutions and exhibit stronger generalization by learning parameters that describe the distribution of the underlying solution space, with higher probabilities assigned to better solutions. We propose a new framework Diffusion Model-based Solution Generation (DiffSG), which leverages the intrinsic distribution learning capabilities of generative diffusion models to learn high-quality solution distributions based on given inputs. The optimal solution within this distribution is highly probable, allowing it to be effectively reached through repeated sampling. We validate the performance of DiffSG on several typical network optimization problems, including mixed-integer non-linear programming, convex optimization, and hierarchical non-convex optimization. Our results demonstrate that DiffSG outperforms existing baseline methods not only on in-domain inputs but also on out-of-domain inputs. In summary, we demonstrate the potential of generative diffusion models in tackling complex network optimization problems and outline a promising path for their broader application in the communication community. Our code is available at https://github.com/qiyu3816/DiffSG.
ITMay 8, 2022
Transformer-Empowered 6G Intelligent Networks: From Massive MIMO Processing to Semantic CommunicationYang Wang, Zhen Gao, Dezhi Zheng et al.
It is anticipated that 6G wireless networks will accelerate the convergence of the physical and cyber worlds and enable a paradigm-shift in the way we deploy and exploit communication networks. Machine learning, in particular deep learning (DL), is expected to be one of the key technological enablers of 6G by offering a new paradigm for the design and optimization of networks with a high level of intelligence. In this article, we introduce an emerging DL architecture, known as the transformer, and discuss its potential impact on 6G network design. We first discuss the differences between the transformer and classical DL architectures, and emphasize the transformer's self-attention mechanism and strong representation capabilities, which make it particularly appealing for tackling various challenges in wireless network design. Specifically, we propose transformer-based solutions for various massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and semantic communication problems, and show their superiority compared to other architectures. Finally, we discuss key challenges and open issues in transformer-based solutions, and identify future research directions for their deployment in intelligent 6G networks.
SYJul 10, 2016
Distributed Hybrid Power State Estimation under PMU Sampling Phase ErrorsJian Du, Shaodan Ma, Yik-Chung Wu et al.
Phasor measurement units (PMUs) have the advantage of providing direct measurements of power states. However, as the number of PMUs in a power system is limited, the traditional supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system cannot be replaced by the PMU-based system overnight. Therefore, hybrid power state estimation taking advantage of both systems is important. As experiments show that sampling phase errors among PMUs are inevitable in practical deployment, this paper proposes a distributed power state estimation algorithm under PMU phase errors. The proposed distributed algorithm only involves local computations and limited information exchange between neighboring areas, thus alleviating the heavy communication burden compared to the centralized approach. Simulation results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm is very close to that of centralized optimal hybrid state estimates without sampling phase error.
LGMay 8, 2022
Decentralized Stochastic Optimization with Inherent Privacy ProtectionYongqiang Wang, H. Vincent Poor
Decentralized stochastic optimization is the basic building block of modern collaborative machine learning, distributed estimation and control, and large-scale sensing. Since involved data usually contain sensitive information like user locations, healthcare records and financial transactions, privacy protection has become an increasingly pressing need in the implementation of decentralized stochastic optimization algorithms. In this paper, we propose a decentralized stochastic gradient descent algorithm which is embedded with inherent privacy protection for every participating agent against other participating agents and external eavesdroppers. This proposed algorithm builds in a dynamics based gradient-obfuscation mechanism to enable privacy protection without compromising optimization accuracy, which is in significant difference from differential-privacy based privacy solutions for decentralized optimization that have to trade optimization accuracy for privacy. The dynamics based privacy approach is encryption-free, and hence avoids incurring heavy communication or computation overhead, which is a common problem with encryption based privacy solutions for decentralized stochastic optimization. Besides rigorously characterizing the convergence performance of the proposed decentralized stochastic gradient descent algorithm under both convex objective functions and non-convex objective functions, we also provide rigorous information-theoretic analysis of its strength of privacy protection. Simulation results for a distributed estimation problem as well as numerical experiments for decentralized learning on a benchmark machine learning dataset confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
NIApr 29, 2023
Joint Sensing, Communication, and AI: A Trifecta for Resilient THz User ExperiencesChristina Chaccour, Walid Saad, Merouane Debbah et al.
In this paper a novel joint sensing, communication, and artificial intelligence (AI) framework is proposed so as to optimize extended reality (XR) experiences over terahertz (THz) wireless systems. The proposed framework consists of three main components. First, a tensor decomposition framework is proposed to extract unique sensing parameters for XR users and their environment by exploiting then THz channel sparsity. Essentially, THz band's quasi-opticality is exploited and the sensing parameters are extracted from the uplink communication signal, thereby allowing for the use of the same waveform, spectrum, and hardware for both communication and sensing functionalities. Then, the Cramer-Rao lower bound is derived to assess the accuracy of the estimated sensing parameters. Second, a non-autoregressive multi-resolution generative artificial intelligence (AI) framework integrated with an adversarial transformer is proposed to predict missing and future sensing information. The proposed framework offers robust and comprehensive historical sensing information and anticipatory forecasts of future environmental changes, which are generalizable to fluctuations in both known and unforeseen user behaviors and environmental conditions. Third, a multi-agent deep recurrent hysteretic Q-neural network is developed to control the handover policy of reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) subarrays, leveraging the informative nature of sensing information to minimize handover cost, maximize the individual quality of personal experiences (QoPEs), and improve the robustness and resilience of THz links. Simulation results show a high generalizability of the proposed unsupervised generative AI framework to fluctuations in user behavior and velocity, leading to a 61 % improvement in instantaneous reliability compared to schemes with known channel state information.
LGMar 11, 2023
Adversarial Attacks and Defenses in Machine Learning-Powered Networks: A Contemporary SurveyYulong Wang, Tong Sun, Shenghong Li et al.
Adversarial attacks and defenses in machine learning and deep neural network have been gaining significant attention due to the rapidly growing applications of deep learning in the Internet and relevant scenarios. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in the field of adversarial attack and defense techniques, with a focus on deep neural network-based classification models. Specifically, we conduct a comprehensive classification of recent adversarial attack methods and state-of-the-art adversarial defense techniques based on attack principles, and present them in visually appealing tables and tree diagrams. This is based on a rigorous evaluation of the existing works, including an analysis of their strengths and limitations. We also categorize the methods into counter-attack detection and robustness enhancement, with a specific focus on regularization-based methods for enhancing robustness. New avenues of attack are also explored, including search-based, decision-based, drop-based, and physical-world attacks, and a hierarchical classification of the latest defense methods is provided, highlighting the challenges of balancing training costs with performance, maintaining clean accuracy, overcoming the effect of gradient masking, and ensuring method transferability. At last, the lessons learned and open challenges are summarized with future research opportunities recommended.
ITMar 12, 2022
Adaptive Information Bottleneck Guided Joint Source and Channel Coding for Image TransmissionLunan Sun, Yang Yang, Mingzhe Chen et al.
Joint source and channel coding (JSCC) for image transmission has attracted increasing attention due to its robustness and high efficiency. However, the existing deep JSCC research mainly focuses on minimizing the distortion between the transmitted and received information under a fixed number of available channels. Therefore, the transmitted rate may be far more than its required minimum value. In this paper, an adaptive information bottleneck (IB) guided joint source and channel coding (AIB-JSCC) method is proposed for image transmission. The goal of AIB-JSCC is to reduce the transmission rate while improving the image reconstruction quality. In particular, a new IB objective for image transmission is proposed so as to minimize the distortion and the transmission rate. A mathematically tractable lower bound on the proposed objective is derived, and then, adopted as the loss function of AIB-JSCC. To trade off compression and reconstruction quality, an adaptive algorithm is proposed to adjust the hyperparameter of the proposed loss function dynamically according to the distortion during the training. Experimental results show that AIB-JSCC can significantly reduce the required amount of transmitted data and improve the reconstruction quality and downstream task accuracy.
SPMar 23, 2023
Secure Federated Learning for Cognitive Radio SensingMalgorzata Wasilewska, Hanna Bogucka, H. Vincent Poor
This paper considers reliable and secure Spectrum Sensing (SS) based on Federated Learning (FL) in the Cognitive Radio (CR) environment. Motivation, architectures, and algorithms of FL in SS are discussed. Security and privacy threats on these algorithms are overviewed, along with possible countermeasures to such attacks. Some illustrative examples are also provided, with design recommendations for FL-based SS in future CRs.
LGJun 21, 2023
On the Validation of Gibbs Algorithms: Training Datasets, Test Datasets and their AggregationSamir M. Perlaza, Iñaki Esnaola, Gaetan Bisson et al.
The dependence on training data of the Gibbs algorithm (GA) is analytically characterized. By adopting the expected empirical risk as the performance metric, the sensitivity of the GA is obtained in closed form. In this case, sensitivity is the performance difference with respect to an arbitrary alternative algorithm. This description enables the development of explicit expressions involving the training errors and test errors of GAs trained with different datasets. Using these tools, dataset aggregation is studied and different figures of merit to evaluate the generalization capabilities of GAs are introduced. For particular sizes of such datasets and parameters of the GAs, a connection between Jeffrey's divergence, training and test errors is established.
SYJan 19, 2018
Reinforcement Learning-based Energy Trading for MicrogridsLiang Xiao, Xingyu Xiao, Canhuang Dai et al.
With the time-varying renewable energy generation and power demand, microgrids (MGs) exchange energy in smart grids to reduce their dependence on power plants. In this paper, we formulate an MG energy trading game, in which each MG trades energy according to the predicted renewable energy generation and local energy demand, the current battery level, and the energy trading history. The Nash quilibrium (NE) of the game is provided, revealing the conditions under which the local energy generation satisfies the energy demand of the MG and providing the performance bound of the energy trading scheme. We propose a reinforcement learning based MG energy trading scheme that applies the deep Q-network (DQN) to improve the utility of the MG for the case with a large number of the connected MGs. Simulations are performed for the MGs with wind generation that are aware of the electricity prices and the historic energy trading, showing that this scheme significantly reduces the average power plant schedules and improves the utility of the MG compared with the benchmark strategy.
ITJun 2
On the Impact of Pinching Antennas on Traffic OffloadingZhiguo Ding, Robert Schober, H. Vincent Poor
Pinching antennas are characterized by their capability to create strong line-of-sight connections and realize multi-antenna systems in a flexible manner. Existing works have demonstrated the significant potential of pinching antennas for physical layer design. The aim of this paper is to investigate how pinching antennas can be used to reshape the architecture of future networks. In particular, this paper is motivated by the key advantage of pinching antennas, which is to reconfigure the physical boundaries of wireless cells, and focuses on the impact of pinching antennas on traffic offloading. The models for traffic offloading and pinching antenna transmission are presented first. Then, two traffic offloading strategies are developed based on whether an offloading user releases its bandwidth in its original cell. An overall transmit power minimization problem is formulated, where the optimal solutions for the transmit powers and antenna locations are obtained. The presented simulation results demonstrate that the use of pinching antennas can efficiently support traffic offloading, yield low energy consumption, and achieve balanced cell resource utilization.
LGOct 3, 2022
Alternating Differentiation for Optimization LayersHaixiang Sun, Ye Shi, Jingya Wang et al.
The idea of embedding optimization problems into deep neural networks as optimization layers to encode constraints and inductive priors has taken hold in recent years. Most existing methods focus on implicitly differentiating Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions in a way that requires expensive computations on the Jacobian matrix, which can be slow and memory-intensive. In this paper, we developed a new framework, named Alternating Differentiation (Alt-Diff), that differentiates optimization problems (here, specifically in the form of convex optimization problems with polyhedral constraints) in a fast and recursive way. Alt-Diff decouples the differentiation procedure into a primal update and a dual update in an alternating way. Accordingly, Alt-Diff substantially decreases the dimensions of the Jacobian matrix especially for optimization with large-scale constraints and thus increases the computational speed of implicit differentiation. We show that the gradients obtained by Alt-Diff are consistent with those obtained by differentiating KKT conditions. In addition, we propose to truncate Alt-Diff to further accelerate the computational speed. Under some standard assumptions, we show that the truncation error of gradients is upper bounded by the same order of variables' estimation error. Therefore, Alt-Diff can be truncated to further increase computational speed without sacrificing much accuracy. A series of comprehensive experiments validate the superiority of Alt-Diff.
ITOct 18, 2022
Random Orthogonalization for Federated Learning in Massive MIMO SystemsXizixiang Wei, Cong Shen, Jing Yang et al.
We propose a novel communication design, termed random orthogonalization, for federated learning (FL) in a massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) wireless system. The key novelty of random orthogonalization comes from the tight coupling of FL and two unique characteristics of massive MIMO -- channel hardening and favorable propagation. As a result, random orthogonalization can achieve natural over-the-air model aggregation without requiring transmitter side channel state information (CSI) for the uplink phase of FL, while significantly reducing the channel estimation overhead at the receiver. We extend this principle to the downlink communication phase and develop a simple but highly effective model broadcast method for FL. We also relax the massive MIMO assumption by proposing an enhanced random orthogonalization design for both uplink and downlink FL communications, that does not rely on channel hardening or favorable propagation. Theoretical analyses with respect to both communication and machine learning performance are carried out. In particular, an explicit relationship among the convergence rate, the number of clients, and the number of antennas is established. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and efficiency of random orthogonalization for FL in massive MIMO.
NIJun 20, 2023
Reasoning over the Air: A Reasoning-based Implicit Semantic-Aware Communication FrameworkYong Xiao, Yiwei Liao, Yingyu Li et al.
Semantic-aware communication is a novel paradigm that draws inspiration from human communication focusing on the delivery of the meaning of messages. It has attracted significant interest recently due to its potential to improve the efficiency and reliability of communication and enhance users' QoE. Most existing works focus on transmitting and delivering the explicit semantic meaning that can be directly identified from the source signal. This paper investigates the implicit semantic-aware communication in which the hidden information that cannot be directly observed from the source signal must be recognized and interpreted by the intended users. To this end, a novel implicit semantic-aware communication (iSAC) architecture is proposed for representing, communicating, and interpreting the implicit semantic meaning between source and destination users. A projection-based semantic encoder is proposed to convert the high-dimensional graphical representation of explicit semantics into a low-dimensional semantic constellation space for efficient physical channel transmission. To enable the destination user to learn and imitate the implicit semantic reasoning process of source user, a generative adversarial imitation learning-based solution, called G-RML, is proposed. Different from existing communication solutions, the source user in G-RML does not focus only on sending as much of the useful messages as possible; but, instead, it tries to guide the destination user to learn a reasoning mechanism to map any observed explicit semantics to the corresponding implicit semantics that are most relevant to the semantic meaning. Compared to the existing solutions, our proposed G-RML requires much less communication and computational resources and scales well to the scenarios involving the communication of rich semantic meanings consisting of a large number of concepts and relations.
LGJun 1, 2023
Reconstructing Graph Diffusion History from a Single SnapshotRuizhong Qiu, Dingsu Wang, Lei Ying et al.
Diffusion on graphs is ubiquitous with numerous high-impact applications. In these applications, complete diffusion histories play an essential role in terms of identifying dynamical patterns, reflecting on precaution actions, and forecasting intervention effects. Despite their importance, complete diffusion histories are rarely available and are highly challenging to reconstruct due to ill-posedness, explosive search space, and scarcity of training data. To date, few methods exist for diffusion history reconstruction. They are exclusively based on the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) formulation and require to know true diffusion parameters. In this paper, we study an even harder problem, namely reconstructing Diffusion history from A single SnapsHot} (DASH), where we seek to reconstruct the history from only the final snapshot without knowing true diffusion parameters. We start with theoretical analyses that reveal a fundamental limitation of the MLE formulation. We prove: (a) estimation error of diffusion parameters is unavoidable due to NP-hardness of diffusion parameter estimation, and (b) the MLE formulation is sensitive to estimation error of diffusion parameters. To overcome the inherent limitation of the MLE formulation, we propose a novel barycenter formulation: finding the barycenter of the posterior distribution of histories, which is provably stable against the estimation error of diffusion parameters. We further develop an effective solver named DIffusion hiTting Times with Optimal proposal (DITTO) by reducing the problem to estimating posterior expected hitting times via the Metropolis--Hastings Markov chain Monte Carlo method (M--H MCMC) and employing an unsupervised graph neural network to learn an optimal proposal to accelerate the convergence of M--H MCMC. We conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.
ITMay 24Code
Adversarial Water-Filling: Theory, Algorithms and Foundation ModelXindi Tong, Chee Wei Tan, H. Vincent Poor
Competitive resource allocation problems over frequency and space can be formulated as minimax interaction between transmit power and worst-case interference. This formulation naturally arises in multi-operator low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite spectrum sharing, where transmissions from competing constellations interfere in real-time. Under Gaussian channels, AWF is strongly convex--concave on nondegenerate active channels, whereas discrete constellations yield generally nonconvex mercury/water-filling formulations. In this paper we propose the Adversarial Water-Filling (AWF) problem with corresponding theory and algorithms for these real situations. In addition, we develop a wireless foundation model for AWF to learn the AWF search dynamics. The architecture incorporates permutation-invariant channel representations, a constraint-aware graph neural network (GNN) with sparse message passing, and global latent variables capturing the low-dimensional water level implied by the AWF optimality. Through learned projected extragradient iterations, the model approximates stationary solutions of the constrained minimax problem arising under mercury/water-filling. We further show that, under local regularity and contractivity conditions, the learned AWF dynamics converge locally linearly around regular stationary points. Experiments demonstrate empirical generalization across unseen problem sizes, different constraints, and multiple discrete constellations, while achieving more than one-order-of-magnitude runtime improvements over iterative baselines. The related code can be found at https://github.com/convexsoft/AWF.
CRAug 25, 2022
On Differential Privacy for Federated Learning in Wireless Systems with Multiple Base StationsNima Tavangaran, Mingzhe Chen, Zhaohui Yang et al.
In this work, we consider a federated learning model in a wireless system with multiple base stations and inter-cell interference. We apply a differential private scheme to transmit information from users to their corresponding base station during the learning phase. We show the convergence behavior of the learning process by deriving an upper bound on its optimality gap. Furthermore, we define an optimization problem to reduce this upper bound and the total privacy leakage. To find the locally optimal solutions of this problem, we first propose an algorithm that schedules the resource blocks and users. We then extend this scheme to reduce the total privacy leakage by optimizing the differential privacy artificial noise. We apply the solutions of these two procedures as parameters of a federated learning system. In this setting, we assume that each user is equipped with a classifier. Moreover, the communication cells are assumed to have mostly fewer resource blocks than numbers of users. The simulation results show that our proposed scheduler improves the average accuracy of the predictions compared with a random scheduler. Furthermore, its extended version with noise optimizer significantly reduces the amount of privacy leakage.
LGMar 7, 2023
Amplitude-Varying Perturbation for Balancing Privacy and Utility in Federated LearningXin Yuan, Wei Ni, Ming Ding et al.
While preserving the privacy of federated learning (FL), differential privacy (DP) inevitably degrades the utility (i.e., accuracy) of FL due to model perturbations caused by DP noise added to model updates. Existing studies have considered exclusively noise with persistent root-mean-square amplitude and overlooked an opportunity of adjusting the amplitudes to alleviate the adverse effects of the noise. This paper presents a new DP perturbation mechanism with a time-varying noise amplitude to protect the privacy of FL and retain the capability of adjusting the learning performance. Specifically, we propose a geometric series form for the noise amplitude and reveal analytically the dependence of the series on the number of global aggregations and the $(ε,δ)$-DP requirement. We derive an online refinement of the series to prevent FL from premature convergence resulting from excessive perturbation noise. Another important aspect is an upper bound developed for the loss function of a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) trained by FL running the new DP mechanism. Accordingly, the optimal number of global aggregations is obtained, balancing the learning and privacy. Extensive experiments are conducted using MLP, supporting vector machine, and convolutional neural network models on four public datasets. The contribution of the new DP mechanism to the convergence and accuracy of privacy-preserving FL is corroborated, compared to the state-of-the-art Gaussian noise mechanism with a persistent noise amplitude.
LGJan 30, 2023
Fast Computation of Optimal Transport via Entropy-Regularized Extragradient MethodsGen Li, Yanxi Chen, Yu Huang et al.
Efficient computation of the optimal transport distance between two distributions serves as an algorithm subroutine that empowers various applications. This paper develops a scalable first-order optimization-based method that computes optimal transport to within $\varepsilon$ additive accuracy with runtime $\widetilde{O}( n^2/\varepsilon)$, where $n$ denotes the dimension of the probability distributions of interest. Our algorithm achieves the state-of-the-art computational guarantees among all first-order methods, while exhibiting favorable numerical performance compared to classical algorithms like Sinkhorn and Greenkhorn. Underlying our algorithm designs are two key elements: (a) converting the original problem into a bilinear minimax problem over probability distributions; (b) exploiting the extragradient idea -- in conjunction with entropy regularization and adaptive learning rates -- to accelerate convergence.
ITMay 10, 2022
Secure and Private Source Coding with Private Key and Decoder Side InformationOnur Günlü, Rafael F. Schaefer, Holger Boche et al.
The problem of secure source coding with multiple terminals is extended by considering a remote source whose noisy measurements are the correlated random variables used for secure source reconstruction. The main additions to the problem include 1) all terminals noncausally observe a noisy measurement of the remote source; 2) a private key is available to all legitimate terminals; 3) the public communication link between the encoder and decoder is rate-limited; and 4) the secrecy leakage to the eavesdropper is measured with respect to the encoder input, whereas the privacy leakage is measured with respect to the remote source. Exact rate regions are characterized for a lossy source coding problem with a private key, remote source, and decoder side information under security, privacy, communication, and distortion constraints. By replacing the distortion constraint with a reliability constraint, we obtain the exact rate region also for the lossless case. Furthermore, the lossy rate region for scalar discrete-time Gaussian sources and measurement channels is established.
ITFeb 21, 2019
Learning requirements for stealth attacksKe Sun, Iñaki Esnaola, Antonia M. Tulino et al.
The learning data requirements are analyzed for the construction of stealth attacks in state estimation. In particular, the training data set is used to compute a sample covariance matrix that results in a random matrix with a Wishart distribution. The ergodic attack performance is defined as the average attack performance obtained by taking the expectation with respect to the distribution of the training data set. The impact of the training data size on the ergodic attack performance is characterized by proposing an upper bound for the performance. Simulations on the IEEE 30-Bus test system show that the proposed bound is tight in practical settings.
SYNov 21, 2016
Resilience of Energy Infrastructure and Services: Modeling, Data Analytics and MetricsChuanyi Ji, Yun Wei, H. Vincent Poor
Large scale power failures induced by severe weather have become frequent and damaging in recent years, causing millions of people to be without electricity service for days. Although the power industry has been battling weather-induced failures for years, it is largely unknown how resilient the energy infrastructure and services really are to severe weather disruptions. What fundamental issues govern the resilience? Can advanced approaches such as modeling and data analytics help industry to go beyond empirical methods? This paper discusses the research to date and open issues related to these questions. The focus is on identifying fundamental challenges and advanced approaches for quantifying resilience. In particular, a first aspect of this problem is how to model large-scale failures, recoveries and impacts, involving the infrastructure, service providers, customers, and weather. A second aspect is how to identify generic vulnerability (i.e., non-resilience) in the infrastructure and services through large-scale data analytics. And, a third is to understand what resilience metrics are needed and how to develop them.
SYAug 11, 2018
Protecting the Grid against IoT Botnets of High-Wattage DevicesSaleh Soltan, Prateek Mittal, H. Vincent Poor
We provide methods to prevent line failures in the power grid caused by a newly revealed MAnipulation of Demand (MAD) attacks via an IoT botnet of high-wattage devices. In particular, we develop two algorithms named Securing Additional margin For generators in Economic dispatch (SAFE) Algorithm and Iteratively MiniMize and boUNd Economic dispatch (IMMUNE) Algorithm for finding robust operating points for generators during the economic dispatch such that no lines are overloaded after automatic primary control response to any MAD attacks. In situations that the operating cost of the grid in a robust state is costly (or no robust operating points exist), we provide efficient methods to verify--in advance--if possible line overloads can be cleared during the secondary control after any MAD attacks. We then define the $αD$-robustness notion for the grids indicating that any line failures can be cleared during the secondary control if an adversary can increase/decrease the demands by $α$ fraction. We demonstrate that practical upper and lower bounds on the maximum $α$ for which the grid is $αD$-robust can be found efficiently in polynomial time. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the developed algorithms and methods on realistic power grid test cases. Our work provides the first methods for protecting the grid against potential line failures caused by MAD attacks.
SYNov 17, 2016
Distribution System Outage Detection using Consumer Load and Line Flow MeasurementsRaffi Sevlian, Yue Zhao, Andrea Goldsmith et al.
An outage detection framework for power distribution networks is proposed. Given the tree structure of the distribution system, a method is developed combining the use of real-time power flow measurements on edges of the tree with load forecasts at the nodes of the tree. A maximum a posteriori detector {\color{black} (MAP)} is formulated for arbitrary number and location of outages on trees which is shown to have an efficient detector. A framework relying on the maximum missed detection probability is used for optimal sensor placement and is solved for tree networks. Finally, a set of case studies is considered using feeder data from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories. We show that a 10\% loss in mean detection reliability network wide reduces the required sensor density by 60 \% for a typical feeder if efficient use of measurements is performed.
LGApr 28, 2022
Phase Shift Design in RIS Empowered Wireless Networks: From Optimization to AI-Based MethodsZongze Li, Shuai Wang, Qingfeng Lin et al.
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have a revolutionary capability to customize the radio propagation environment for wireless networks. To fully exploit the advantages of RISs in wireless systems, the phases of the reflecting elements must be jointly designed with conventional communication resources, such as beamformers, transmit power, and computation time. However, due to the unique constraints on the phase shift, and massive numbers of reflecting units and users in large-scale networks, the resulting optimization problems are challenging to solve. This paper provides a review of current optimization methods and artificial intelligence-based methods for handling the constraints imposed by RIS and compares them in terms of solution quality and computational complexity. Future challenges in phase shift optimization involving RISs are also described and potential solutions are discussed.
LGAug 14, 2023
ST-MLP: A Cascaded Spatio-Temporal Linear Framework with Channel-Independence Strategy for Traffic ForecastingZepu Wang, Yuqi Nie, Peng Sun et al.
The criticality of prompt and precise traffic forecasting in optimizing traffic flow management in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) has drawn substantial scholarly focus. Spatio-Temporal Graph Neural Networks (STGNNs) have been lauded for their adaptability to road graph structures. Yet, current research on STGNNs architectures often prioritizes complex designs, leading to elevated computational burdens with only minor enhancements in accuracy. To address this issue, we propose ST-MLP, a concise spatio-temporal model solely based on cascaded Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) modules and linear layers. Specifically, we incorporate temporal information, spatial information and predefined graph structure with a successful implementation of the channel-independence strategy - an effective technique in time series forecasting. Empirical results demonstrate that ST-MLP outperforms state-of-the-art STGNNs and other models in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency. Our finding encourages further exploration of more concise and effective neural network architectures in the field of traffic forecasting.
SPJul 3, 2023
Over-The-Air Federated Learning: Status Quo, Open Challenges, and Future DirectionsBingnan Xiao, Xichen Yu, Wei Ni et al.
The development of applications based on artificial intelligence and implemented over wireless networks is increasingly rapidly and is expected to grow dramatically in the future. The resulting demand for the aggregation of large amounts of data has caused serious communication bottlenecks in wireless networks and particularly at the network edge. Over-the-air federated learning (OTA-FL), leveraging the superposition feature of multi-access channels (MACs), enables users at the network edge to share spectrum resources and achieves efficient and low-latency global model aggregation. This paper provides a holistic review of progress in OTA-FL and points to potential future research directions. Specifically, we classify OTA-FL from the perspective of system settings, including single-antenna OTA-FL, multi-antenna OTA-FL, and OTA-FL with the aid of the emerging reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology, and the contributions of existing works in these areas are summarized. Moreover, we discuss the trust, security and privacy aspects of OTA-FL, and highlight concerns arising from security and privacy. Finally, challenges and potential research directions are discussed to promote the future development of OTA-FL in terms of improving system performance, reliability, and trustworthiness. Specifical challenges to be addressed include model distortion under channel fading, the ineffective OTA aggregation of local models trained on substantially unbalanced data, and the limited accessibility and verifiability of individual local models.
LGJun 2, 2023
Efficient Reinforcement Learning with Impaired Observability: Learning to Act with Delayed and Missing State ObservationsMinshuo Chen, Jie Meng, Yu Bai et al.
In real-world reinforcement learning (RL) systems, various forms of {\it impaired observability} can complicate matters. These situations arise when an agent is unable to observe the most recent state of the system due to latency or lossy channels, yet the agent must still make real-time decisions. This paper introduces a theoretical investigation into efficient RL in control systems where agents must act with delayed and missing state observations. We present algorithms and establish near-optimal regret upper and lower bounds, of the form $\tilde{\mathcal{O}}(\sqrt{{\rm poly}(H) SAK})$, for RL in the delayed and missing observation settings. Here $S$ and $A$ are the sizes of state and action spaces, $H$ is the time horizon and $K$ is the number of episodes. Despite impaired observability posing significant challenges to the policy class and planning, our results demonstrate that learning remains efficient, with the regret bound optimally depending on the state-action size of the original system. Additionally, we provide a characterization of the performance of the optimal policy under impaired observability, comparing it to the optimal value obtained with full observability. Numerical results are provided to support our theory.
ITNov 2, 2022
Deep Reinforcement Learning for IRS Phase Shift Design in Spatiotemporally Correlated EnvironmentsSpilios Evmorfos, Athina P. Petropulu, H. Vincent Poor
The paper studies the problem of designing the Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) phase shifters for Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) communication systems in spatiotemporally correlated channel environments, where the destination can move within a confined area. The objective is to maximize the expected sum of SNRs at the receiver over infinite time horizons. The problem formulation gives rise to a Markov Decision Process (MDP). We propose a deep actor-critic algorithm that accounts for channel correlations and destination motion by constructing the state representation to include the current position of the receiver and the phase shift values and receiver positions that correspond to a window of previous time steps. The channel variability induces high frequency components on the spectrum of the underlying value function. We propose the preprocessing of the critic's input with a Fourier kernel which enables stable value learning. Finally, we investigate the use of the destination SNR as a component of the designed MDP state, which is common practice in previous work. We provide empirical evidence that, when the channels are spatiotemporally correlated, the inclusion of the SNR in the state representation interacts with function approximation in ways that inhibit convergence.
NIMar 15Code
Cross-Problem Solving for Network Optimization: Is Problem-Aware Learning the Key?Ruihuai Liang, Bo Yang, Pengyu Chen et al.
As intelligent network services continue to diversify, ensuring efficient and adaptive resource allocation in edge networks has become increasingly critical. Yet the wide functional variations across services often give rise to new and unforeseen optimization problems, rendering traditional manual modeling and solver design both time-consuming and inflexible. This limitation reveals a key gap between current methods and human solving - the inability to recognize and understand problem characteristics. It raises the question of whether problem-aware learning can bridge this gap and support effective cross-problem generalization. To answer this question, we propose a problem-aware diffusion (PAD) model, which leverages a problem-aware learning framework to enable cross-problem generalization. By explicitly encoding the mathematical formulations of optimization problems into token-level embeddings, PAD empowers the model to understand and adapt to problem structures. Extensive experiments across ten representative network optimization problems show that PAD generalizes well to unseen problems while avoiding the inefficiency of building new solvers from scratch, yet still delivering competitive solution quality. Meanwhile, an auxiliary constraint-aware module is designed to enforce solution validity further. The experiments indicate that problem-aware learning opens a promising direction toward general-purpose solvers for intelligent network operation and resource management. Our code is open source at https://github.com/qiyu3816/PAD.
ITFeb 28, 2023
Collaborative Mean Estimation over Intermittently Connected Networks with Peer-To-Peer PrivacyRajarshi Saha, Mohamed Seif, Michal Yemini et al.
This work considers the problem of Distributed Mean Estimation (DME) over networks with intermittent connectivity, where the goal is to learn a global statistic over the data samples localized across distributed nodes with the help of a central server. To mitigate the impact of intermittent links, nodes can collaborate with their neighbors to compute local consensus which they forward to the central server. In such a setup, the communications between any pair of nodes must satisfy local differential privacy constraints. We study the tradeoff between collaborative relaying and privacy leakage due to the additional data sharing among nodes and, subsequently, propose a novel differentially private collaborative algorithm for DME to achieve the optimal tradeoff. Finally, we present numerical simulations to substantiate our theoretical findings.
SPNov 8, 2023
Deep Learning Assisted Multiuser MIMO Load Modulated Systems for Enhanced Downlink mmWave CommunicationsErcong Yu, Jinle Zhu, Qiang Li et al.
This paper is focused on multiuser load modulation arrays (MU-LMAs) which are attractive due to their low system complexity and reduced cost for millimeter wave (mmWave) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems. The existing precoding algorithm for downlink MU-LMA relies on a sub-array structured (SAS) transmitter which may suffer from decreased degrees of freedom and complex system configuration. Furthermore, a conventional LMA codebook with codewords uniformly distributed on a hypersphere may not be channel-adaptive and may lead to increased signal detection complexity. In this paper, we conceive an MU-LMA system employing a full-array structured (FAS) transmitter and propose two algorithms accordingly. The proposed FAS-based system addresses the SAS structural problems and can support larger numbers of users. For LMA-imposed constant-power downlink precoding, we propose an FAS-based normalized block diagonalization (FAS-NBD) algorithm. However, the forced normalization may result in performance degradation. This degradation, together with the aforementioned codebook design problems, is difficult to solve analytically. This motivates us to propose a Deep Learning-enhanced (FAS-DL-NBD) algorithm for adaptive codebook design and codebook-independent decoding. It is shown that the proposed algorithms are robust to imperfect knowledge of channel state information and yield excellent error performance. Moreover, the FAS-DL-NBD algorithm enables signal detection with low complexity as the number of bits per codeword increases.
LGMar 23, 2022
Contextual Model Aggregation for Fast and Robust Federated Learning in Edge ComputingHung T. Nguyen, H. Vincent Poor, Mung Chiang
Federated learning is a prime candidate for distributed machine learning at the network edge due to the low communication complexity and privacy protection among other attractive properties. However, existing algorithms face issues with slow convergence and/or robustness of performance due to the considerable heterogeneity of data distribution, computation and communication capability at the edge. In this work, we tackle both of these issues by focusing on the key component of model aggregation in federated learning systems and studying optimal algorithms to perform this task. Particularly, we propose a contextual aggregation scheme that achieves the optimal context-dependent bound on loss reduction in each round of optimization. The aforementioned context-dependent bound is derived from the particular participating devices in that round and an assumption on smoothness of the overall loss function. We show that this aggregation leads to a definite reduction of loss function at every round. Furthermore, we can integrate our aggregation with many existing algorithms to obtain the contextual versions. Our experimental results demonstrate significant improvements in convergence speed and robustness of the contextual versions compared to the original algorithms. We also consider different variants of the contextual aggregation and show robust performance even in the most extreme settings.
ITJun 14, 2023
Differentially Private Wireless Federated Learning Using Orthogonal SequencesXizixiang Wei, Tianhao Wang, Ruiquan Huang et al.
We propose a privacy-preserving uplink over-the-air computation (AirComp) method, termed FLORAS, for single-input single-output (SISO) wireless federated learning (FL) systems. From the perspective of communication designs, FLORAS eliminates the requirement of channel state information at the transmitters (CSIT) by leveraging the properties of orthogonal sequences. From the privacy perspective, we prove that FLORAS offers both item-level and client-level differential privacy (DP) guarantees. Moreover, by properly adjusting the system parameters, FLORAS can flexibly achieve different DP levels at no additional cost. A new FL convergence bound is derived which, combined with the privacy guarantees, allows for a smooth tradeoff between the achieved convergence rate and differential privacy levels. Experimental results demonstrate the advantages of FLORAS compared with the baseline AirComp method, and validate that the analytical results can guide the design of privacy-preserving FL with different tradeoff requirements on the model convergence and privacy levels.
LGAug 17, 2022
Interference Cancellation GAN Framework for Dynamic ChannelsHung T. Nguyen, Steven Bottone, Kwang Taik Kim et al.
Symbol detection is a fundamental and challenging problem in modern communication systems, e.g., multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) setting. Iterative Soft Interference Cancellation (SIC) is a state-of-the-art method for this task and recently motivated data-driven neural network models, e.g. DeepSIC, that can deal with unknown non-linear channels. However, these neural network models require thorough timeconsuming training of the networks before applying, and is thus not readily suitable for highly dynamic channels in practice. We introduce an online training framework that can swiftly adapt to any changes in the channel. Our proposed framework unifies the recent deep unfolding approaches with the emerging generative adversarial networks (GANs) to capture any changes in the channel and quickly adjust the networks to maintain the top performance of the model. We demonstrate that our framework significantly outperforms recent neural network models on highly dynamic channels and even surpasses those on the static channel in our experiments.
STMay 29
The Nonparametric Kiefer-Weiss ProblemMichael Fauss, H. Vincent Poor, Abdelhak M. Zoubir
A nonparametric variant of the Kiefer-Weiss problem is proposed and solved. The objective is to minimize a weighted sum of the error probabilities of a binary sequential test subject to a constraint on its maximum expected sample size. This maximum is taken over all possible probability distributions on the given sequence space. First, it is shown that the nonparametric Kiefer-Weiss problem can be reduced to an optimal stopping problem. Then, the optimal stopping policy is derived under the assumption that at most k uses of randomization are permitted during any run of the test. The solution to the original problem is then obtained by letting k go to infinity. The optimal cost function is shown to be the solution of a nonlinear Bellman equation. The corresponding optimal stopping policy is shown to be based on a two-dimensional test statistic, with one component tracking the likelihood ratio and the other one tracking the expected remaining sample size. Critically, the stopping policy uses randomization to increase the remaining expected sample size for some runs, while stopping early for others. The optimal randomization rule is shown to be determined by a function that maps the likelihood ratio to an integer-valued sample size. Two approximations of this function are proposed that can be evaluated easily in practice. The results are illustrated with two numerical examples of nonparametric Kiefer-Weiss tests, one for a shift in the success probability of a Bernoulli distribution, and one for a shift in the mean of a normal distribution.
ITApr 27
Covariance-Aware Demapping on Fourier-Curve ConstellationsBin Han, Muxia Sun, H. Vincent Poor et al.
Injecting artificial noise (AN) along the tangent space of a curved constellation makes each transmitted symbol induce a Gaussian observation with a symbol-dependent rank-one covariance, so the matched maximum-likelihood (ML) decoder differs from the Euclidean nearest-neighbor decoder by a single rank-one correction per candidate. We develop a baseband-demapper realization of this correction for the Fourier-curve constellation and instantiate a regular $(3,6)$ low-density parity-check (LDPC)-coded link at $(k,M){=}(20,64)$. Against four baselines (Euclidean-mismatched, flat-constellation isotropic-AN, no-AN, and same-spectral-efficiency narrowband), the matched decoder extends the BLER${=}10^{-1}$ operating range by approximately $5$\,dB over the Euclidean-mismatched counterpart on the same tangent-AN transmitter, at a cost of $2kM$ additional multiply-accumulate operations per symbol ($+50\%/+100\%$ under residual/template-correlation accounting) and a $20$\,KB constellation--tangent lookup table ($10$\,KB incremental over a Euclidean template-only LUT). A bit-interleaved coded-modulation achievable-rate (BICM-AIR) computation supports the same matched-metric advantage at the tested labeling and max-log demapper, indicating that the BLER gain is not merely an artifact of this particular LDPC simulation, and a Woodbury extension generalizes the rank-one correction to per-tone Ricean fading. In the tested Monte-Carlo runs, a design-aware bounded-search eavesdropper without the phase-key shows no successful LDPC decoding at any tested $k\in\{2,8,20\}$ within a $B{=}10^{3}$ non-code-aided search budget; code-aided, multi-frame, and known-preamble attacks are left to follow-up work. LUT quantization down to $6$ bits yields no measurable coded-BLER degradation at the tested operating points.
LGFeb 13
Quantization-Aware Collaborative Inference for Large Embodied AI ModelsZhonghao Lyu, Ming Xiao, Mikael Skoglund et al.
Large artificial intelligence models (LAIMs) are increasingly regarded as a core intelligence engine for embodied AI applications. However, the massive parameter scale and computational demands of LAIMs pose significant challenges for resource-limited embodied agents. To address this issue, we investigate quantization-aware collaborative inference (co-inference) for embodied AI systems. First, we develop a tractable approximation for quantization-induced inference distortion. Based on this approximation, we derive lower and upper bounds on the quantization rate-inference distortion function, characterizing its dependence on LAIM statistics, including the quantization bit-width. Next, we formulate a joint quantization bit-width and computation frequency design problem under delay and energy constraints, aiming to minimize the distortion upper bound while ensuring tightness through the corresponding lower bound. Extensive evaluations validate the proposed distortion approximation, the derived rate-distortion bounds, and the effectiveness of the proposed joint design. Particularly, simulations and real-world testbed experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed joint design in balancing inference quality, latency, and energy consumption in edge embodied AI systems.
DCNov 4, 2025
Federated Attention: A Distributed Paradigm for Collaborative LLM Inference over Edge NetworksXiumei Deng, Zehui Xiong, Binbin Chen et al.
Large language models (LLMs) are proliferating rapidly at the edge, delivering intelligent capabilities across diverse application scenarios. However, their practical deployment in collaborative scenarios confronts fundamental challenges: privacy vulnerabilities, communication overhead, and computational bottlenecks. To address these, we propose Federated Attention (FedAttn), which integrates the federated paradigm into the self-attention mechanism, creating a new distributed LLM inference framework that simultaneously achieves privacy protection, communication efficiency, and computational efficiency. FedAttn enables participants to perform local self-attention over their own token representations while periodically exchanging and aggregating Key-Value (KV) matrices across multiple Transformer blocks, collaboratively generating LLM responses without exposing private prompts. Further, we identify a structural duality between contextual representation refinement in FedAttn and parameter optimization in FL across private data, local computation, and global aggregation. This key insight provides a principled foundation for systematically porting federated optimization techniques to collaborative LLM inference. Building on this framework, we theoretically analyze how local self-attention computation within participants and heterogeneous token relevance among participants shape error propagation dynamics across Transformer blocks. Moreover, we characterize the fundamental trade-off between response quality and communication/computation efficiency, which is governed by the synchronization interval and the number of participants. Experimental results validate our theoretical analysis, and reveal significant optimization opportunities through sparse attention and adaptive KV aggregation, highlighting FedAttn's potential to deliver scalability and efficiency in real-world edge deployments.
LGAug 4, 2023
Analysis and Optimization of Wireless Federated Learning with Data HeterogeneityXuefeng Han, Jun Li, Wen Chen et al.
With the rapid proliferation of smart mobile devices, federated learning (FL) has been widely considered for application in wireless networks for distributed model training. However, data heterogeneity, e.g., non-independently identically distributions and different sizes of training data among clients, poses major challenges to wireless FL. Limited communication resources complicate the implementation of fair scheduling which is required for training on heterogeneous data, and further deteriorate the overall performance. To address this issue, this paper focuses on performance analysis and optimization for wireless FL, considering data heterogeneity, combined with wireless resource allocation. Specifically, we first develop a closed-form expression for an upper bound on the FL loss function, with a particular emphasis on data heterogeneity described by a dataset size vector and a data divergence vector. Then we formulate the loss function minimization problem, under constraints on long-term energy consumption and latency, and jointly optimize client scheduling, resource allocation, and the number of local training epochs (CRE). Next, via the Lyapunov drift technique, we transform the CRE optimization problem into a series of tractable problems. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other benchmarks in terms of the learning accuracy and energy consumption.
ITJun 14, 2022
Matching Pursuit Based Scheduling for Over-the-Air Federated LearningAli Bereyhi, Adela Vagollari, Saba Asaad et al.
This paper develops a class of low-complexity device scheduling algorithms for over-the-air federated learning via the method of matching pursuit. The proposed scheme tracks closely the close-to-optimal performance achieved by difference-of-convex programming, and outperforms significantly the well-known benchmark algorithms based on convex relaxation. Compared to the state-of-the-art, the proposed scheme poses a drastically lower computational load on the system: For $K$ devices and $N$ antennas at the parameter server, the benchmark complexity scales with $\left(N^2+K\right)^3 + N^6$ while the complexity of the proposed scheme scales with $K^p N^q$ for some $0 < p,q \leq 2$. The efficiency of the proposed scheme is confirmed via numerical experiments on the CIFAR-10 dataset.
LGNov 30, 2023
Data-Agnostic Model Poisoning against Federated Learning: A Graph Autoencoder ApproachKai Li, Jingjing Zheng, Xin Yuan et al.
This paper proposes a novel, data-agnostic, model poisoning attack on Federated Learning (FL), by designing a new adversarial graph autoencoder (GAE)-based framework. The attack requires no knowledge of FL training data and achieves both effectiveness and undetectability. By listening to the benign local models and the global model, the attacker extracts the graph structural correlations among the benign local models and the training data features substantiating the models. The attacker then adversarially regenerates the graph structural correlations while maximizing the FL training loss, and subsequently generates malicious local models using the adversarial graph structure and the training data features of the benign ones. A new algorithm is designed to iteratively train the malicious local models using GAE and sub-gradient descent. The convergence of FL under attack is rigorously proved, with a considerably large optimality gap. Experiments show that the FL accuracy drops gradually under the proposed attack and existing defense mechanisms fail to detect it. The attack can give rise to an infection across all benign devices, making it a serious threat to FL.