SC-CDM: Enhancing Quality of Image Semantic Communication with a Compact Diffusion Model

Semantic Communication (SC) is an emerging technology that has attracted much attention in the sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems. However, few literature has fully considered the perceptual quality of the reconstructed image. To solve this problem, we propose a generative SC for wireless image transmission (denoted as SC-CDM). This approach leverages compact diffusion models to improve the fidelity and semantic accuracy of the images reconstructed after transmission, ensuring that the essential content is preserved even in bandwidth-constrained environments. Specifically, we aim to redesign the swin Transformer as a new backbone for efficient semantic feature extraction and compression. Next, the receiver integrates the slim prior and image reconstruction networks. Compared to traditional Diffusion Models (DMs), it leverages DMs' robust distribution mapping capability to generate a compact condition vector, guiding image recovery, thus enhancing the perceptual details of the reconstructed images. Finally, a series of evaluation and ablation studies are conducted to validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm and further increase the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) by over 17% on top of CNN-based DeepJSCC.

SAFE: Semantic Adaptive Feature Extraction with Rate Control for 6G Wireless Communications

Most current Deep Learning-based Semantic Communication (DeepSC) systems are designed and trained exclusively for particular single-channel conditions, which restricts their adaptability and overall bandwidth utilization. To address this, we propose an innovative Semantic Adaptive Feature Extraction (SAFE) framework, which significantly improves bandwidth efficiency by allowing users to select different sub-semantic combinations based on their channel conditions. This paper also introduces three advanced learning algorithms to optimize the performance of SAFE framework as a whole. Through a series of simulation experiments, we demonstrate that the SAFE framework can effectively and adaptively extract and transmit semantics under different channel bandwidth conditions, of which effectiveness is verified through objective and subjective quality evaluations.

FSSC: Federated Learning of Transformer Neural Networks for Semantic Image Communication

In this paper, we address the problem of image semantic communication in a multi-user deployment scenario and propose a federated learning (FL) strategy for a Swin Transformer-based semantic communication system (FSSC). Firstly, we demonstrate that the adoption of a Swin Transformer for joint source-channel coding (JSCC) effectively extracts semantic information in the communication system. Next, the FL framework is introduced to collaboratively learn a global model by aggregating local model parameters, rather than directly sharing clients' data. This approach enhances user privacy protection and reduces the workload on the server or mobile edge. Simulation evaluations indicate that our method outperforms the typical JSCC algorithm and traditional separate-based communication algorithms. Particularly after integrating local semantics, the global aggregation model has further increased the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) by more than 2dB, thoroughly proving the effectiveness of our algorithm.

Semantic Successive Refinement: A Generative AI-aided Semantic Communication Framework

Semantic Communication (SC) is an emerging technology aiming to surpass the Shannon limit. Traditional SC strategies often minimize signal distortion between the original and reconstructed data, neglecting perceptual quality, especially in low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) environments. To address this issue, we introduce a novel Generative AI Semantic Communication (GSC) system for single-user scenarios. This system leverages deep generative models to establish a new paradigm in SC. Specifically, At the transmitter end, it employs a joint source-channel coding mechanism based on the Swin Transformer for efficient semantic feature extraction and compression. At the receiver end, an advanced Diffusion Model (DM) reconstructs high-quality images from degraded signals, enhancing perceptual details. Additionally, we present a Multi-User Generative Semantic Communication (MU-GSC) system utilizing an asynchronous processing model. This model effectively manages multiple user requests and optimally utilizes system resources for parallel processing. Simulation results on public datasets demonstrate that our generative AI semantic communication systems achieve superior transmission efficiency and enhanced communication content quality across various channel conditions. Compared to CNN-based DeepJSCC, our methods improve the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) by 17.75% in Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channels and by 20.86% in Rayleigh channels.

SemantIC: Semantic Interference Cancellation Towards 6G Wireless Communications

This letter proposes a novel anti-interference technique, semantic interference cancellation (SemantIC), for enhancing information quality towards the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. SemantIC only requires the receiver to concatenate the channel decoder with a semantic auto-encoder. This constructs a turbo loop which iteratively and alternately eliminates noise in the signal domain and the semantic domain. From the viewpoint of network information theory, the neural network of the semantic auto-encoder stores side information by training, and provides side information in iterative decoding, as an implementation of the Wyner-Ziv theorem. Simulation results verify the performance improvement by SemantIC without extra channel resource cost.

Semantic-Forward Relaying: A Novel Framework Towards 6G Cooperative Communications

This letter proposes a novel relaying framework, semantic-forward (SF), for cooperative communications towards the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. The SF relay extracts and transmits the semantic features, which reduces forwarding payload, and also improves the network robustness against intra-link errors. Based on the theoretical basis for cooperative communications with side information and the turbo principle, we design a joint source-channel coding algorithm to iteratively exchange the extrinsic information for enhancing the decoding gains at the destination. Surprisingly, simulation results indicate that even in bad channel conditions, SF relaying can still effectively improve the recovered information quality.