Qingqing Wu

Qingqing Wu, Yuxuan Chen, Guangji Chen et al.

In intelligent reflecting surface IRS assisted multiple input multiple output MIMO systems, a strong line of sight LoS link is required to compensate for the severe cascaded path loss. However, such a link renders the effective channel highly rank deficient and fundamentally limits spatial multiplexing. To overcome this limitation, this paper leverages the large aperture of sparse arrays to harness near field spherical wavefronts, and establishes a deterministic deployment criterion that strategically positions the IRS in the near field of a base station BS. This placement exploits the spherical wavefronts of the BS IRS link to engineer decorrelated channels, thereby fundamentally overcoming the rank deficiency issue in far field cascaded channels. Based on a physical channel model for the sparse BS array and the IRS, we characterize the rank properties and inter user correlation of the cascaded BS IRS user channel. We further derive a closed form favorable propagation metric that reveals how the sparse array geometry and the IRS position can be tuned to reduce inter user channel correlation. The resulting geometry driven deployment rule provides a simple guideline for creating a favorable propagation environment with enhanced effective degrees of freedom. The favorable channel statistics induced by our deployment criterion enable a low complexity maximum ratio transmission MRT precoding scheme. This serves as the foundation for an efficient algorithm that jointly optimizes the IRS phase shifts and power allocation based solely on long term statistical channel state information CSI. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of our deployment criterion and demonstrate that our optimization framework achieves significant performance gains over benchmark schemes.

Tianheng Xu, Runke Fan, Jie Zhu et al.

With the surging demand for ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ubiquitous connectivity in Sixth-Generation (6G) networks, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) emerge as a key complement to terrestrial networks by offering flexible access and global coverage. Despite the significant potential, NTNs still face critical challenges, including dynamic propagation environments, energy constraints, and dense interference. As a key 6G technology, Fluid Antennas (FAs) can reshape wireless channels by reconfiguring radiating elements within a limited space, such as their positions and rotations, to provide higher channel diversity and multiplexing gains. Compared to fixed-position antennas, FAs can present a promising integration path for NTNs to mitigate dynamic channel fading and optimize resource allocation. This paper provides a comprehensive review of FA-assisted NTNs. We begin with a brief overview of the classical structure and limitations of existing NTNs, the fundamentals and advantages of FAs, and the basic principles of FA-assisted NTNs. We then investigate the joint optimization solutions, detailing the adjustments of FA configurations, NTN platform motion modes, and resource allocations. We also discuss the combination with other emerging technologies and explore FA-assisted NTNs as a novel network architecture for intelligent function integrations. Furthermore, we delve into the physical layer security and covert communication in FA-assisted NTNs. Finally, we highlight the potential future directions to empower broader applications of FA-assisted NTNs.

Jie Zhang, Jun Li, Yijin Zhang et al.

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is envisioned to be widely applied in future wireless networks. In this paper, we investigate a multi-user communication system assisted by cooperative IRS devices with the capability of energy harvesting. Aiming to maximize the long-term average achievable system rate, an optimization problem is formulated by jointly designing the transmit beamforming at the base station (BS) and discrete phase shift beamforming at the IRSs, with the constraints on transmit power, user data rate requirement and IRS energy buffer size. Considering time-varying channels and stochastic arrivals of energy harvested by the IRSs, we first formulate the problem as a Markov decision process (MDP) and then develop a novel multi-agent Q-mix (MAQ) framework with two layers to decouple the optimization parameters. The higher layer is for optimizing phase shift resolutions, and the lower one is for phase shift beamforming and power allocation. Since the phase shift optimization is an integer programming problem with a large-scale action space, we improve MAQ by incorporating the Wolpertinger method, namely, MAQ-WP algorithm to achieve a sub-optimality with reduced dimensions of action space. In addition, as MAQ-WP is still of high complexity to achieve good performance, we propose a policy gradient-based MAQ algorithm, namely, MAQ-PG, by mapping the discrete phase shift actions into a continuous space at the cost of a slight performance loss. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed MAQ-WP and MAQ-PG algorithms can converge faster and achieve data rate improvements of 10.7% and 8.8% over the conventional multi-agent DDPG, respectively.

Qiyao Wang, Beixiong Zheng, Xue Xiong et al.

In the evolving landscape of mobile edge computing (MEC), enhancing communication reliability and computation efficiency to support increasingly stringent low-latency services remains a fundamental challenge. Rotatable antenna (RA) is a promising technology that introduces new spatial degrees of freedom (DoFs) to tackle this challenge. In this letter, we investigate an RA-enabled MEC system where antenna boresight directions can be independently adjusted to proactively improve wireless channel conditions for latency-critical users. We aim to minimize the maximum computation latency by jointly optimizing the MEC server computing resource allocation, receive beamforming, and the deflection angles of all RAs. To address the resulting non-convex problem, we develop an efficient alternating optimization (AO) framework. Specifically, the optimal edge computing resource allocation is derived based on the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions. Given the computing resources, the receive beamforming is optimized using semidefinite relaxation (SDR) combined with a bisection search. Furthermore, the RA deflection angles are optimized via fractional programming (FP) and successive convex approximation (SCA). Simulation results verify that the proposed RA-enabled MEC scheme significantly reduces the maximum computation latency compared with conventional benchmark methods.

Guoying Zhang, Qingqing Wu, Ziyuan Zheng et al.

In this paper, we investigate an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-assisted multi-user system, where the base station (BS) employs rotatable antennas (RAs) and the IRS can adjust the panel orientation.To alleviate the severe multiplicative path loss of the cascaded channel, the IRS is deployed near the BS, while the user-BS and user-IRS links remain in the far field. We formulate a sum-rate maximization problem by jointly optimizing the receive beamforming, IRS phase shifts, BS antenna boresights, and IRS panel orientation. To tackle the resulting highly coupled and non-convex problem, we first study a single-user case to reveal the structure of the dual-rotation gain, which is shown to be multiplicatively separable in the far field but coupled in the near field. For the general multi-user case, we develop an alternating optimization algorithm, where the receive beamforming is updated in closed form, the IRS phase shifts are optimized by an FP-assisted Riemannian conjugate gradient method, and the BS antenna boresights and IRS panel orientation are updated via projected gradient methods. Simulation results demonstrate the significant sum-rate gains achieved by the proposed coordinated rotation design over fixed-orientation and single-rotation benchmark schemes, and provide useful insights into near-field dual-rotation design.

Guojie Hu, Qingqing Wu, Lipeng Zhu et al.

Through adaptive antenna repositioning, the movable antenna (MA) technology enables on-demand reconfiguration of wireless channels, thereby creating an additional spatial degree of freedom in improving communication performance. This paper investigates a multiuser uplink communication system aided by MAs, where a base station (BS) equipped with multiple MAs serves multiple single-antenna users. Specifically, given that an optimized array geometry cannot guarantee rate fairness, we focus on designing antenna trajectory at the BS to maximize the minimum achievable rate among all users over a finite time period. The resulting optimization problem is fundamentally challenging to solve due to the continuous-time nature. To address it, we first examine an ideal case with infinitely fast MA movement and demonstrate that the relaxed problem can be optimally solved via the Lagrangian dual method. The obtained trajectory solution reveals that the BS should employ a finite set of MA deployment patterns, each allocated an optimal time duration. Building on this, we then study the general case with limited MA movement speed and propose a heuristic trajectory design inspired by the optimal patterns identified in the ideal scenario. Several insights are also gained by examining the simplified special case. Finally, numerical results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed designs compared to competitive benchmarks.

Ailing Zheng, Qingqing Wu, Xingxiang Peng et al.

Physical layer security (PLS) is a promising paradigm for safeguarding 6G wireless networks by exploiting the inherent characteristics of wireless channels. However, the efficiency of conventional PLS is often limited by fixed orientation antennas. This paper investigates a rotatable antenna (RA)-aided secure multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, where both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with RAs in the presence of an eavesdropper. By dynamically optimizing the orientations of RAs, we can proactively reshape the effective MIMO channels to enhance legitimate transmission while simultaneously suppressing information leakage to the eavesdropper. We formulate a secrecy rate maximization problem by jointly optimizing the transmit beamforming, artificial noise (AN) covariance matrix, and the transmit/receive RA orientations, subject to the transmit power budget and antenna orientation constraints. To tackle the resulting highly coupled and non-convex problem, we first study a simplified single-input single-output (SISO) case to reveal the structure of the optimal RA orientation. For the general MIMO case, we develop an alternating optimization algorithm by reformulating the original problem through the minimum mean-square error framework. In particular, the transmit beamforming and AN covariance matrix are derived in semi-closed forms, while the RA orientations are updated via the Riemannian Frank-Wolfe method. The proposed design is further extended to the multi-receiver secure transmission scenario. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme converges rapidly and achieves significant secrecy rate gains over the conventional fixed-orientation scheme.

Yanmin Wang, Wei Feng, Yunfei Chen et al.

Driven by both technological development and practical demands, the low-altitude economy relying on low-altitude aircrafts (LAAs) is booming. However, neither satellites nor terrestrial fifth-generation (5G) networks alone can effectively satisfy the communication requirements for ubiquitous lowaltitude coverage. While full integration of satellites and 5G networks offers theoretical benefits, the associated overhead and complexity pose significant challenges for rapid deployment. As a more economical and immediately viable alternative, this paper investigates partially-integrated networks where satellites and 5G systems operate with coarse synchronization yet achieve coordinated spectrum sharing, pooling their capabilities to jointly serve LAAs. Leveraging the inherent position-awareness of LAAs, we propose a framework for joint time-frequency spectrum sharing with an adaptive synchronization time scale, where only large-scale channel state information (CSI) is required. To avoid solving the NP-hard optimization problem directly, link-feature-aided clustering is employed following a divide-andconquer strategy. The proposed framework achieves substantial performance gains with low overhead and complexity, enabling swift advancement of low-altitude applications while paving the way for future integrated satellite-terrestrial network evolution.

Tian-Tian Lin, Yi Liu, Xiao-Wei Tang et al.

Recently, the integration of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and visible light communication (VLC) technologies has emerged as a promising solution to offer flexible communication and efficient lighting. This letter investigates the three-dimensional trajectory planning in a UAV-assisted VLC system, where a UAV is dispatched to collect data from ground users (GUs). The core objective is to develop a trajectory planning framework that minimizes UAV flight distance, which is equivalent to maximizing the data collection efficiency. This issue is formulated as a challenging mixed-integer non-convex optimization problem. To tackle it, we first derive a closed-form optimal flight altitude under specific VLC channel gain threshold. Subsequently, we optimize the UAV horizontal trajectory by integrating a novel pheromone-driven reward mechanism with the twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm, which enables adaptive UAV motion strategy in complex environments. Simulation results validate that the derived optimal altitude effectively reduces the flight distance by up to 35% compared to baseline methods. Additionally, the proposed reward mechanism significantly shortens the convergence steps by approximately 50%, demonstrating notable efficiency gains in the context of UAV-assisted VLC data collection.

Xiyuan Liu, Qingqing Wu, Rui Wang et al.

Beamforming design for extremely large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (XL-MIMO) systems is challenging due to prohibitive computational complexity and complex near-field propagation effects. To address this, this paper introduces a holographic beamforming paradigm that reformulates the design from optimizing variables at spatially discrete antenna locations to shaping a continuous electromagnetic wave function over the array aperture, effectively mitigating the growth of algorithmic complexity as the array scale increases. We apply this paradigm to the challenging dual near-field (DNF) scenario, where strong transceiver coupling severely degrades conventional iterative algorithms. In this case, we propose a novel Virtual Point Source (VPS) method, which approximates the ideal wave function with a single and analytically tractable spherical-wave. A rigorous geometric-optical analysis is provided to show that the optimal VPS location can be determined in a fully non-iterative manner, thus decoupling the coupled DNF problem. The proposed method is demonstrated in an intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS)-assisted system, where simulation results show that our non-iterative approach achieves performance comparable to converged alternating-optimization (AO) algorithms, while incurring significantly lower complexity and avoiding convergence uncertainty. This work offers a new theoretical framework for holographic beamforming design in XL-MIMO systems.

Qimei Cui, Xiaohu You, Ni Wei et al.

With the growing demand for seamless connectivity and intelligent communication, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and sixth-generation (6G) communication networks has emerged as a transformative paradigm. By embedding AI capabilities across various network layers, this integration enables optimized resource allocation, improved efficiency, and enhanced system robust performance, particularly in intricate and dynamic environments. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of AI and communication for 6G networks, with a focus on emphasizing their foundational principles, inherent challenges, and future research opportunities. We first review the integration of AI and communications in the context of 6G, exploring the driving factors behind incorporating AI into wireless communications, as well as the vision for the convergence of AI and 6G. The discourse then transitions to a detailed exposition of the envisioned integration of AI within 6G networks, delineated across three progressive developmental stages. The first stage, AI for Network, focuses on employing AI to augment network performance, optimize efficiency, and enhance user service experiences. The second stage, Network for AI, highlights the role of the network in facilitating and buttressing AI operations and presents key enabling technologies, such as digital twins for AI and semantic communication. In the final stage, AI as a Service, it is anticipated that future 6G networks will innately provide AI functions as services, supporting application scenarios like immersive communication and intelligent industrial robots. In addition, we conduct an in-depth analysis of the critical challenges faced by the integration of AI and communications in 6G. Finally, we outline promising future research opportunities that are expected to drive the development and refinement of AI and 6G communications.

Zhaolong Ning, Hao Hu, Xiaojie Wang et al.

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-assisted unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications are expected to alleviate the load of ground base stations in a cost-effective way. Existing studies mainly focus on the deployment and resource allocation of a single IRS instead of multiple IRSs, whereas it is extremely challenging for joint multi-IRS multi-user association in UAV communications with constrained reflecting resources and dynamic scenarios. To address the aforementioned challenges, we propose a new optimization algorithm for joint IRS-user association, trajectory optimization of UAVs, successive interference cancellation (SIC) decoding order scheduling and power allocation to maximize system energy efficiency. We first propose an inverse soft-Q learning-based algorithm to optimize multi-IRS multi-user association. Then, SCA and Dinkelbach-based algorithm are leveraged to optimize UAV trajectory followed by the optimization of SIC decoding order scheduling and power allocation. Finally, theoretical analysis and performance results show significant advantages of the designed algorithm in convergence rate and energy efficiency.

Yaxuan Chen, Guangchi Zhang, Miao Cui et al.

A core challenge in physical-layer security is the difficulty of obtaining the channel state information (CSI) of potential eavesdroppers. The inherent sensing functionality of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems offers a promising solution by enabling the estimation of key parameters, such as the eavesdropper's angles of departure (AoDs). Capitalizing on this capability, we propose a sensing-assisted secure communication scheme for a movable antenna (MA)-aided ISAC system. The scheme comprises two stages: eavesdropper AoD sensing and secure communication. In the first stage, the base station (BS) optimizes the positions of its transmit and receive MAs to enhance sensing accuracy. We derive the closed-form Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) for the estimated AoDs to fundamentally characterize how MA positions influence the estimation uncertainty. In the second stage, the BS ensures secure communication by designing a robust beamforming vector that accounts for the AoD uncertainty region and by further optimizing the transmit MAs' positions to maximize the secrecy rate. To manage the end-to-end design, we formulate a joint optimization problem. This intractable non-convex problem is decomposed into two subproblems. For the first subproblem, we develop an alternating optimization (AO) algorithm to solve the CRB minimization problem. For the second subproblem, we solve the worst-case secrecy rate maximization problem using a method based on backward induction, convex hull construction, and AO. Finally, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the significant advantages of the proposed scheme compared to various benchmarks.

Guojie Hu, Qingqing Wu, Lipeng Zhu et al.

The movable antenna (MA) technology enables flexible reconfiguration of wireless channels through adaptive antenna deployment, offering significant potential for enhancing communication performance. However, antenna movement requires a certain duration within which communication may be compromised due to factors such as channel fluctuation and Doppler effect. This leads to a fundamental tradeoff: A longer movement duration allows antennas to reach more favorable positions for better channel conditions, but it inevitably reduces the time available for data transmission. To characterize the aforementioned tradeoff, we focus on the MAs-enabled multiuser downlink scenario, and jointly optimize the movement duration and antenna deployment at the base station to maximize the effective throughput. The formulated problem is highly non-convex. The general solutions require an one-dimensional search over movement durations, each with optimized antenna deployment. To reduce complexity, we propose a fitting method that samples only a few rate-duration pairs, yielding a closed-form expression that captures the rate trend and enables a favorable solution immediately. We further derive a closed-form condition on the maximum antenna movement speed: When the speed is below a certain threshold, the optimal strategy is to keep antennas stationary throughout the transmission period. The fundamental tradeoff and the effectiveness of the proposed solutions are examined in a special case with two MAs and two users. Finally, numerical simulations validate the efficacy of the proposed schemes.

Xinyue Liang, Hui Kang, Junwei Che et al.

While low-altitude wireless networks (LAWNs) based on uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer high mobility, flexibility, and coverage for urban communications, they face severe signal attenuation in dense environments due to obstructions. To address this critical issue, we consider introducing collaborative beamforming (CB) of UAVs and omnidirectional reconfigurable beamforming (ORB) of simultaneous transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (STAR-RIS) to enhance the signal quality and directionality. On this basis, we formulate a joint rate and energy optimization problem (JREOP) to maximize the transmission rate of the overall system, while minimizing the energy consumption of the UAV swarm. Due to the non-convex and NP-hard nature of JREOP, we propose a heterogeneous multi-agent collaborative dynamic (HMCD) optimization framework, which has two core components. The first component is a simulated annealing (SA)-based STAR-RIS control method, which dynamically optimizes reflection and transmission coefficients to enhance signal propagation. The second component is an improved multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) control method, which incorporates a self-attention evaluation mechanism to capture interactions between UAVs and an adaptive velocity transition mechanism to enhance training stability. Simulation results demonstrate that HMCD outperforms various baselines in terms of convergence speed, average transmission rate, and energy consumption. Further analysis reveals that the average transmission rate of the overall system scales positively with both UAV count and STAR-RIS element numbers.

Zeyu Chen, Wen Chen, Jun Li et al.

Federated Learning (FL) offers a decentralized solution that allows collaborative local model training and global aggregation, thereby protecting data privacy. In conventional FL frameworks, data privacy is typically preserved under the assumption that local data remains absolutely private, whereas the mobility of clients is frequently neglected in explicit modeling. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical federated learning framework based on the social network with mobility namely HFL-SNM that considers both data sharing among clients and their mobility patterns. Under the constraints of limited resources, we formulate a joint optimization problem of resource allocation and client scheduling, which objective is to minimize the energy consumption of clients during the FL process. In social network, we introduce the concepts of Effective Data Coverage Rate and Redundant Data Coverage Rate. We analyze the impact of effective data and redundant data on the model performance through preliminary experiments. We decouple the optimization problem into multiple sub-problems, analyze them based on preliminary experimental results, and propose Dynamic Optimization in Social Network with Mobility (DO-SNM) algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm achieves superior model performance while significantly reducing energy consumption, compared to traditional baseline algorithms.

Qingqing Wu, Jie Xu, Yong Zeng et al.

Due to the advancements in cellular technologies and the dense deployment of cellular infrastructure, integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the fifth-generation (5G) and beyond cellular networks is a promising solution to achieve safe UAV operation as well as enabling diversified applications with mission-specific payload data delivery. In particular, 5G networks need to support three typical usage scenarios, namely, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). On the one hand, UAVs can be leveraged as cost-effective aerial platforms to provide ground users with enhanced communication services by exploiting their high cruising altitude and controllable maneuverability in three-dimensional (3D) space. On the other hand, providing such communication services simultaneously for both UAV and ground users poses new challenges due to the need for ubiquitous 3D signal coverage as well as the strong air-ground network interference. Besides the requirement of high-performance wireless communications, the ability to support effective and efficient sensing as well as network intelligence is also essential for 5G-and-beyond 3D heterogeneous wireless networks with coexisting aerial and ground users. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research efforts on integrating UAVs into cellular networks, with an emphasis on how to exploit advanced techniques (e.g., intelligent reflecting surface, short packet transmission, energy harvesting, joint communication and radar sensing, and edge intelligence) to meet the diversified service requirements of next-generation wireless systems. Moreover, we highlight important directions for further investigation in future work.

Qingqing Wu, Shuowen Zhang, Beixiong Zheng et al.

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is an enabling technology to engineer the radio signal prorogation in wireless networks. By smartly tuning the signal reflection via a large number of low-cost passive reflecting elements, IRS is capable of dynamically altering wireless channels to enhance the communication performance. It is thus expected that the new IRS-aided hybrid wireless network comprising both active and passive components will be highly promising to achieve a sustainable capacity growth cost-effectively in the future. Despite its great potential, IRS faces new challenges to be efficiently integrated into wireless networks, such as reflection optimization, channel estimation, and deployment from communication design perspectives. In this paper, we provide a tutorial overview of IRS-aided wireless communication to address the above issues, and elaborate its reflection and channel models, hardware architecture and practical constraints, as well as various appealing applications in wireless networks. Moreover, we highlight important directions worthy of further investigation in future work.