Active Inference for Sum Rate Maximization in UAV-Assisted Cognitive NOMA Networks

Given the surge in wireless data traffic driven by the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cognitive radio (CR), and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) have been recognized as promising techniques to overcome massive connectivity issues. As a result, there is an increasing need to intelligently improve the channel capacity of future wireless networks. Motivated by active inference from cognitive neuroscience, this paper investigates joint subchannel and power allocation for an uplink UAV-assisted cognitive NOMA network. Maximizing the sum rate is often a highly challenging optimization problem due to dynamic network conditions and power constraints. To address this challenge, we propose an active inference-based algorithm. We transform the sum rate maximization problem into abnormality minimization by utilizing a generalized state-space model to characterize the time-changing network environment. The problem is then solved using an Active Generalized Dynamic Bayesian Network (Active-GDBN). The proposed framework consists of an offline perception stage, in which a UAV employs a hierarchical GDBN structure to learn an optimal generative model of discrete subchannels and continuous power allocation. In the online active inference stage, the UAV dynamically selects discrete subchannels and continuous power to maximize the sum rate of secondary users. By leveraging the errors in each episode, the UAV can adapt its resource allocation policies and belief updating to improve its performance over time. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm in terms of cumulative sum rate compared to benchmark schemes.