Private, Augmentation-Robust and Task-Agnostic Data Valuation Approach for Data Marketplace

Evaluating datasets in data marketplaces, where the buyer aim to purchase valuable data, is a critical challenge. In this paper, we introduce an innovative task-agnostic data valuation method called PriArTa which is an approach for computing the distance between the distribution of the buyer's existing dataset and the seller's dataset, allowing the buyer to determine how effectively the new data can enhance its dataset. PriArTa is communication-efficient, enabling the buyer to evaluate datasets without needing access to the entire dataset from each seller. Instead, the buyer requests that sellers perform specific preprocessing on their data and then send back the results. Using this information and a scoring metric, the buyer can evaluate the dataset. The preprocessing is designed to allow the buyer to compute the score while preserving the privacy of each seller's dataset, mitigating the risk of information leakage before the purchase. A key feature of PriArTa is its robustness to common data transformations, ensuring consistent value assessment and reducing the risk of purchasing redundant data. The effectiveness of PriArTa is demonstrated through experiments on real-world image datasets, showing its ability to perform privacy-preserving, augmentation-robust data valuation in data marketplaces.

A Deep Unfolding-Based Scalarization Approach for Power Control in D2D Networks

Optimizing network utility in device-to-device networks is typically formulated as a non-convex optimization problem. This paper addresses the scenario where the optimization variables are from a bounded but continuous set, allowing each device to perform power control. The power at each link is optimized to maximize a desired network utility. Specifically, we consider the weighted-sum-rate. The state of the art benchmark for this problem is fractional programming with quadratic transform, known as FPLinQ. We propose a scalarization approach to transform the weighted-sum-rate, developing an iterative algorithm that depends on step sizes, a reference, and a direction vector. By employing the deep unfolding approach, we optimize these parameters by presenting the iterative algorithm as a finite sequence of steps, enabling it to be trained as a deep neural network. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the unfolded algorithm performs comparably to the benchmark in most cases while exhibiting lower complexity. Furthermore, the unfolded algorithm shows strong generalizability in terms of varying the number of users, the signal-to-noise ratio and arbitrary weights. The weighted-sum-rate maximizer can be integrated into a low-complexity fairness scheduler, updating priority weights via virtual queues and Lyapunov Drift Plus Penalty. This is demonstrated through experiments using proportional and max-min fairness.

Cooperative Multistatic Target Detection in Cell-Free Communication Networks

In this work, we consider the target detection problem in a multistatic integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) scenario characterized by the cell-free MIMO communication network deployment, where multiple radio units (RUs) in the network cooperate with each other for the sensing task. By exploiting the angle resolution from multiple arrays deployed in the network and the delay resolution from the communication signals, i.e., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals, we formulate a cooperative sensing problem with coherent data fusion of multiple RUs' observations and propose a sparse Bayesian learning (SBL)-based method, where the global coordinates of target locations are directly detected. Intensive numerical results indicate promising target detection performance of the proposed SBL-based method. Additionally, a theoretical analysis of the considered cooperative multistatic sensing task is provided using the pairwise error probability (PEP) analysis, which can be used to provide design insights, e.g., illumination and beam patterns, for the considered problem.

Joint Antenna Selection and Covariance Matrix Optimization for ISAC Systems

We consider an integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system with a single communication user and multiple targets. For the communication functionality, the achievable rate is employed as the performance metric, while for sensing, we focus on minimizing the mean squared error (MSE) between the designed beampattern and a desired one for tracking the targets. Towards this, and by assuming that there are fewer radiofrequency (RF) chains than antenna elements at the transmitter (Tx), we focus on the joint antenna selection (AS) and covariance matrix (CM) optimization at the Tx. This is a mixed-integer optimization problem, yet we demonstrate that it can be efficiently solved, in polynomial time, by combining convex optimization tools with dynamic programming (DP). By introducing an adjustable trade-off parameter, we formulate a joint objective function that captures both the communication and sensing metric. In this way, different ISAC solutions can be obtained, considering the trade-off among the two functionalities. It is shown that selecting the active antennas with our proposed method is superior than assuming a uniform Tx array with fixed antenna positions. Notably, by individually considering the optimization of either the sensing or the communication system alone, our proposed algorithm outperforms the literature proposals, by incurring only a small increase in complexity.

Analysis of Cross-Domain Message Passing for OTFS Transmissions

In this paper, we investigate the performance of the cross-domain iterative detection (CDID) framework with orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation, where two distinct CDID algorithms are presented. The proposed schemes estimate/detect the information symbols iteratively across the frequency domain and the delay-Doppler (DD) domain via passing either the a posteriori or extrinsic information. Building upon this framework, we investigate the error performance by considering the bias evolution and state evolution. Furthermore, we discuss their error performance in convergence and the DD domain error state lower bounds in each iteration. Specifically, we demonstrate that in convergence, the ultimate error performance of the CDID passing the a posteriori information can be characterized by two potential convergence points. In contrast, the ultimate error performance of the CDID passing the extrinsic information has only one convergence point, which, interestingly, aligns with the matched filter bound. Our numerical results confirm our analytical findings and unveil the promising error performance achieved by the proposed designs.

OFDM Achieves the Lowest Ranging Sidelobe Under Random ISAC Signaling

This paper aims to answer a fundamental question in the area of Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC): What is the optimal communication-centric ISAC waveform for ranging? Towards that end, we first established a generic framework to analyze the sensing performance of communication-centric ISAC waveforms built upon orthonormal signaling bases and random data symbols. Then, we evaluated their ranging performance by adopting both the periodic and aperiodic auto-correlation functions (P-ACF and A-ACF), and defined the expectation of the integrated sidelobe level (EISL) as a sensing performance metric. On top of that, we proved that among all communication waveforms with cyclic prefix (CP), the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation is the only globally optimal waveform that achieves the lowest ranging sidelobe for quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and phase shift keying (PSK) constellations, in terms of both the EISL and the sidelobe level at each individual lag of the P-ACF. As a step forward, we proved that among all communication waveforms without CP, OFDM is a locally optimal waveform for QAM/PSK in the sense that it achieves a local minimum of the EISL of the A-ACF. Finally, we demonstrated by numerical results that under QAM/PSK constellations, there is no other orthogonal communication-centric waveform that achieves a lower ranging sidelobe level than that of the OFDM, in terms of both P-ACF and A-ACF cases.

Resource Allocation Design for Next-Generation Multiple Access: A Tutorial Overview

Multiple access is the cornerstone technology for each generation of wireless cellular networks and resource allocation design plays a crucial role in multiple access. In this paper, we present a comprehensive tutorial overview for junior researchers in this field, aiming to offer a foundational guide for resource allocation design in the context of next-generation multiple access (NGMA). Initially, we identify three types of channels in future wireless cellular networks over which NGMA will be implemented, namely: natural channels, reconfigurable channels, and functional channels. Natural channels are traditional uplink and downlink communication channels; reconfigurable channels are defined as channels that can be proactively reshaped via emerging platforms or techniques, such as intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and movable/fluid antenna (M/FA); and functional channels support not only communication but also other functionalities simultaneously, with typical examples including integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) and joint computing and communication (JCAC) channels. Then, we introduce NGMA models applicable to these three types of channels that cover most of the practical communication scenarios of future wireless communications. Subsequently, we articulate the key optimization technical challenges inherent in the resource allocation design for NGMA, categorizing them into rate-oriented, power-oriented, and reliability-oriented resource allocation designs. The corresponding optimization approaches for solving the formulated resource allocation design problems are then presented. Finally, simulation results are presented and discussed to elucidate the practical implications and insights derived from resource allocation designs in NGMA.

Compressed Sensing Inspired User Acquisition for Downlink Integrated Sensing and Communication Transmissions

This paper investigates radar-assisted user acquisition for downlink multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signals. Specifically, we formulate a concise mathematical model for the user acquisition problem, where each user is characterized by its delay and beamspace response. Therefore, we propose a two-stage method for user acquisition, where the Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm is adopted for delay estimation, and then a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is applied for estimating the user response in the beamspace. Furthermore, we also provide a comprehensive performance analysis of the considered problem based on the pair-wise error probability (PEP). Particularly, we show that the rank and the geometric mean of non-zero eigenvalues of the squared beamspace difference matrix determines the user acquisition performance. More importantly, we reveal that simultaneously probing multiple beams outperforms concentrating power on a specific beam direction in each time slot under the power constraint, when only limited OFDM symbols are transmitted. Our numerical results confirm our conclusions and also demonstrate a promising acquisition performance of the proposed two-stage method.

Distributed Combinatorial Optimization of Downlink User Assignment in mmWave Cell-free Massive MIMO Using Graph Neural Networks

Millimeter wave (mmWave) cell-free massive MIMO (CF mMIMO) is a promising solution for future wireless communications. However, its optimization is non-trivial due to the challenging channel characteristics. We show that mmWave CF mMIMO optimization is largely an assignment problem between access points (APs) and users due to the high path loss of mmWave channels, the limited output power of the amplifier, and the almost orthogonal channels between users given a large number of AP antennas. The combinatorial nature of the assignment problem, the requirement for scalability, and the distributed implementation of CF mMIMO make this problem difficult. In this work, we propose an unsupervised machine learning (ML) enabled solution. In particular, a graph neural network (GNN) customized for scalability and distributed implementation is introduced. Moreover, the customized GNN architecture is hierarchically permutation-equivariant (HPE), i.e., if the APs or users of an AP are permuted, the output assignment is automatically permuted in the same way. To address the combinatorial problem, we relax it to a continuous problem, and introduce an information entropy-inspired penalty term. The training objective is then formulated using the augmented Lagrangian method (ALM). The test results show that the realized sum-rate outperforms that of the generalized serial dictatorship (GSD) algorithm and is very close to the upper bound in a small network scenario, while the upper bound is impossible to obtain in a large network scenario.

A Modular Pragmatic Architecture for Multiuser MIMO with Array-Fed RIS

We propose a power- and hardware-efficient, pragmatic, modular, multiuser/multibeam array-fed RIS architecture particularly suited to operate in very high frequency bands (high mmWave and sub-THz), where channels are typically sparse in the beamspace and line-of-sight (LOS) is required to achieve an acceptable received signal level. The key module is an active multi-antenna feeder (AMAF) with a small number of active antennas placed in the near field of a RIS with a much larger number of passive controllable reflecting elements. We propose a pragmatic approach to obtain a steerable beam with high gain and very low sidelobes. Then, $K$ independently controlled beams can be achieved by stacking $K$ of such AMAF-RIS modules. Our analysis takes in full account: 1) the near-end crosstalk (NEXT) between the modules, 2) the far-end crosstalk (FEXT) due to the sidelobes; 3) a thorough energy efficiency comparison with respect to conventional {\em active arrays} with the same beamforming performance. Overall, we show that the proposed architecture is very attractive in terms of spectral efficiency, ease of implementation (hardware complexity), and energy efficiency.