Mai Vu

Alireza Alizadeh, Byungju Lim, Mai Vu

As next generation cellular networks become denser, associating users with the optimal base stations at each time while ensuring no base station is overloaded becomes critical for achieving stable and high network performance. We propose multi-agent online Q-learning (QL) algorithms for performing real-time load balancing user association and handover in dense cellular networks. The load balancing constraints at all base stations couple the actions of user agents, and we propose two multi-agent action selection policies, one centralized and one distributed, to satisfy load balancing at every learning step. In the centralized policy, the actions of UEs are determined by a central load balancer (CLB) running an algorithm based on swapping the worst connection to maximize the total learning reward. In the distributed policy, each UE takes an action based on its local information by participating in a distributed matching game with the BSs to maximize the local reward. We then integrate these action selection policies into an online QL algorithm that adapts in real-time to network dynamics including channel variations and user mobility, using a reward function that considers a handover cost to reduce handover frequency. The proposed multi-agent QL algorithm features low-complexity and fast convergence, outperforming 3GPP max-SINR association. Both policies adapt well to network dynamics at various UE speed profiles from walking, running, to biking and suburban driving, illustrating their robustness and real-time adaptability.

Beier Li, Mai Vu

6G wireless technology is projected to adopt higher and wider frequency bands, enabled by highly directional beamforming. However, the vast bandwidths available also make the impact of beam squint in massive multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) systems non-negligible. Traditional approaches such as adding a true-time-delay line (TTD) on each antenna are costly due to the massive antenna arrays required. This paper puts forth a signal processing alternative, specifically adapted to the multicarrier structure of OFDM systems, through an innovative application of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to optimize hybrid beamforming. By integrating two types of graph nodes to represent the analog and the digital beamforming matrices efficiently, our approach not only reduces the computational and memory burdens but also achieves high spectral efficiency performance, approaching that of all digital beamforming. The GNN runtime and memory requirement are at a fraction of the processing time and resource consumption of traditional signal processing methods, hence enabling real-time adaptation of hybrid beamforming. Furthermore, the proposed GNN exhibits strong resiliency to beam squinting, achieving almost constant spectral efficiency even as the system bandwidth increases at higher carrier frequencies.

Tien Vu-Van, Dat Du Thanh, Nguyen Ho et al.

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) achieve high performance in image classification tasks but are challenging to deploy on resource-limited hardware due to their large model sizes. To address this issue, we leverage Mutual Information, a metric that provides valuable insights into how deep learning models retain and process information through measuring the shared information between input features or output labels and network layers. In this study, we propose a structured filter-pruning approach for CNNs that identifies and selectively retains the most informative features in each layer. Our approach successively evaluates each layer by ranking the importance of its feature maps based on Conditional Mutual Information (CMI) values, computed using a matrix-based Renyi α-order entropy numerical method. We propose several formulations of CMI to capture correlation among features across different layers. We then develop various strategies to determine the cutoff point for CMI values to prune unimportant features. This approach allows parallel pruning in both forward and backward directions and significantly reduces model size while preserving accuracy. Tested on the VGG16 architecture with the CIFAR-10 dataset, the proposed method reduces the number of filters by more than a third, with only a 0.32% drop in test accuracy.