Spectral Efficiency Maximization for mmWave MIMO-Aided Integrated Sensing and Communication Under Practical Constraints

A hybrid transmit precoder (TPC) and receive combiner (RC) pair is conceived for millimeter wave (mmWave) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems. The proposed design considers a practical mean squared error (MSE) constraint between the desired and the achieved beampatterns constructed for identifying radar targets (RTs). To achieve optimal performance, we formulate an optimization problem relying on sum spectral efficiency (SE) maximization of the communication users (CUs), while satisfying certain radar beampattern similarity (RBPS), total transmit power, and constant modulus constraints, where the latter are attributed to the hybrid mmWave MIMO architecture. Since the aforementioned problem is non-convex and intractable, a sequential approach is proposed wherein the TPCs are designed first, followed by the RCs. To deal with the non-convex MSE and constant modulus constraints in the TPC design problem, we propose a majorization and minimization (MM) based Riemannian conjugate gradient (RCG) method, which restricts the tolerable MSE of the beampattern to within a predefined limit. Moreover, the least squares and the zero-forcing methods are adopted for maximizing the sum-SE and for mitigating the multiuser interference (MUI), respectively. Furthermore, to design the RC at each CU, we propose a linear MM-based blind combiner (LMBC) scheme that does not rely on the knowledge of the TPC at the CUs and has a low complexity. To achieve user fairness, we further extend the proposed sequential approach for maximizing the geometric mean (GM) of the CU's rate. Simulation results are presented, which show the superior performance of the proposed hybrid TPC and RC in comparison to the state-of-the-art designs in the mmWave MIMO ISAC systems under consideration.

Graph Neural Network Aided Detection for the Multi-User Multi-Dimensional Index Modulated Uplink

The concept of Compressed Sensing-aided Space-Frequency Index Modulation (CS-SFIM) is conceived for the Large-Scale Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Uplink (LS-MU-MIMO-UL) of Next-Generation (NG) networks. Explicitly, in CS-SFIM, the information bits are mapped to both spatial- and frequency-domain indices, where we treat the activation patterns of the transmit antennas and of the subcarriers separately. Serving a large number of users in an MU-MIMO-UL system leads to substantial Multi-User Interference (MUI). Hence, we design the Space-Frequency (SF) domain matrix as a joint factor graph, where the Approximate Message Passing (AMP) and Expectation Propagation (EP) based MU detectors can be utilized. In the LS-MU-MIMO-UL scenario considered, the proposed system uses optimal Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) detectors as benchmarks for comparison with the proposed MP-based detectors. These MP-based detectors significantly reduce the detection complexity compared to ML detection, making the design eminently suitable for LS-MU scenarios. To further reduce the detection complexity and improve the detection performance, we propose a pair of Graph Neural Network (GNN) based detectors, which rely on the orthogonal AMP (OAMP) and on the EP algorithm, which we refer to as the GNN-AMP and GEPNet detectors, respectively. The GEPNet detector maximizes the detection performance, while the GNN-AMP detector strikes a performance versus complexity trade-off. The GNN is trained for a single system configuration and yet it can be used for any number of users in the system. The simulation results show that the GNN-based detector approaches the ML performance in various configurations.

Electric Bus Charging Schedules Relying on Real Data-Driven Targets Based on Hierarchical Deep Reinforcement Learning

The charging scheduling problem of Electric Buses (EBs) is investigated based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). A Markov Decision Process (MDP) is conceived, where the time horizon includes multiple charging and operating periods in a day, while each period is further divided into multiple time steps. To overcome the challenge of long-range multi-phase planning with sparse reward, we conceive Hierarchical DRL (HDRL) for decoupling the original MDP into a high-level Semi-MDP (SMDP) and multiple low-level MDPs. The Hierarchical Double Deep Q-Network (HDDQN)-Hindsight Experience Replay (HER) algorithm is proposed for simultaneously solving the decision problems arising at different temporal resolutions. As a result, the high-level agent learns an effective policy for prescribing the charging targets for every charging period, while the low-level agent learns an optimal policy for setting the charging power of every time step within a single charging period, with the aim of minimizing the charging costs while meeting the charging target. It is proved that the flat policy constructed by superimposing the optimal high-level policy and the optimal low-level policy performs as well as the optimal policy of the original MDP. Since jointly learning both levels of policies is challenging due to the non-stationarity of the high-level agent and the sampling inefficiency of the low-level agent, we divide the joint learning process into two phases and exploit our new HER algorithm to manipulate the experience replay buffers for both levels of agents. Numerical experiments are performed with the aid of real-world data to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Performance Analysis of Fluid Antenna System Aided OTFS Satellite Communications

Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks typically rely on satellite communications to provide coverage in rural areas. However, high-mobility satellite links introduce severe Doppler and delay spreads, which necessitate the use of orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation for reliable data transmission. Furthermore, the space and energy constraints on IoT devices make the perfect use case for fluid antenna systems (FAS) due to their mechanical simplicity. Hence, we propose a sophisticated FAS aided OTFS (FAS-OTFS) framework for satellite-based IoT networks. We derive analytical expressions for both the outage probability and ergodic capacity of FAS-OTFS under a general channel model, where the expressions derived are presented in integral form or as analytical bounds for efficient numerical evaluation. Additionally, we investigate a single-path fading scenario, where closed-form expressions are obtained. Our numerical results demonstrate significant performance gains in terms of both the outage probability and capacity compared to conventional OTFS systems, confirming the efficacy of FAS-OTFS in energy-constrained high-mobility environments. Our findings establish FAS-OTFS as a promising candidate for next-generation IoT communications over satellite links.

Optimal Hybrid Transmit Beamforming for mm-Wave Integrated Sensing and Communication

A hybrid beamformer (HBF) is designed for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC)-aided millimeter wave (mmWave) systems. The ISAC base station (BS), relying on a limited number of radio frequency (RF) chains, supports multiple communication users (CUs) and simultaneously detects the radar target (RT). To maximize the probability of detection (PD) of the RT, and achieve rate fairness among the CUs, we formulate two problems for the optimization of the RF and baseband (BB) transmit precoders (TPCs): PD-maximization (PD-max) and geometric mean rate-maximization (GMR-max), while ensuring the quality of services (QoS) of the RT and CUs. Both problems are highly non-convex due to the intractable expressions of the PD and GMR and also due to the non-convex unity magnitude constraints imposed on each element of the RF TPC. To solve these problems, we first transform the intractable expressions into their tractable counterparts and propose a power-efficient bisection search and majorization and minimization-based alternating algorithms for the PD-max and GMR-max problems, respectively. Furthermore, both algorithms optimize the BB TPC and RF TPCs in an alternating fashion via the successive convex approximation (SCA) and penalty-based Riemannian conjugate gradient (PRCG) techniques, respectively. Specifically, in the PRCG method, we initially add all the constraints except for the unity magnitude constraint to the objective function as a penalty term and subsequently employ the RCG method for optimizing the RF TPC. Finally, we present our simulation results and compare them to the benchmarks for demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed algorithms.

Downlink Multiuser Communications Relying on Flexible Intelligent Metasurfaces

A flexible intelligent metasurface (FIM) is composed of an array of low-cost radiating elements, each of which can independently radiate electromagnetic signals and flexibly adjust its position through a 3D surface-morphing process. In our system, an FIM is deployed at a base station (BS) that transmits to multiple single-antenna users. We formulate an optimization problem for minimizing the total downlink transmit power at the BS by jointly optimizing the transmit beamforming and the FIM's surface shape, subject to an individual signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraint for each user as well as to a constraint on the maximum morphing range of the FIM. To address this problem, an efficient alternating optimization method is proposed to iteratively update the FIM's surface shape and the transmit beamformer to gradually reduce the transmit power. Finally, our simulation results show that at a given data rate the FIM reduces the transmit power by about $3$ dB compared to conventional rigid 2D arrays.

Flexible Intelligent Metasurfaces for Enhanced MIMO Communications

Flexible intelligent metasurfaces (FIMs) constitute a promising technology that could significantly boost the wireless network capacity. An FIM is essentially a soft array made up of many low-cost radiating elements that can independently emit electromagnetic signals. What's more, each element can flexibly adjust its position, even perpendicularly to the surface, to morph the overall 3D shape. In this paper, we study the potential of FIMs in point-to-point multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, where two FIMs are used as transceivers. In order to characterize the capacity limits of FIM-aided narrowband MIMO transmissions, we formulate an optimization problem for maximizing the MIMO channel capacity by jointly optimizing the 3D surface shapes of the transmitting and receiving FIMs, as well as the transmit covariance matrix, subject to a specific total transmit power constraint and to the maximum morphing range of the FIM. To solve this problem, we develop an efficient block coordinate descent (BCD) algorithm. The BCD algorithm iteratively updates the 3D surface shapes of the FIMs and the transmit covariance matrix, while keeping the other fixed. Numerical results verify that FIMs can achieve higher MIMO capacity than traditional rigid arrays. In some cases, the MIMO channel capacity can be doubled by employing FIMs.

A Framework for Fractional Matrix Programming Problems with Applications in FBL MU-MIMO

An efficient framework is conceived for fractional matrix programming (FMP) optimization problems (OPs) namely for minimization and maximization. In each generic OP, either the objective or the constraints are functions of multiple arbitrary continuous-domain fractional functions (FFs). This ensures the framework's versatility, enabling it to solve a broader range of OPs than classical FMP solvers, like Dinkelbach-based algorithms. Specifically, the generalized Dinkelbach algorithm can only solve multiple-ratio FMP problems. By contrast, our framework solves OPs associated with a sum or product of multiple FFs as the objective or constraint functions. Additionally, our framework provides a single-loop solution, while most FMP solvers require twin-loop algorithms. Many popular performance metrics of wireless communications are FFs. For instance, latency has a fractional structure, and minimizing the sum delay leads to an FMP problem. Moreover, the mean square error (MSE) and energy efficiency (EE) metrics have fractional structures. Thus, optimizing EE-related metrics such as the sum or geometric mean of EEs and enhancing the metrics related to spectral-versus-energy-efficiency tradeoff yield FMP problems. Furthermore, both the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and the channel dispersion are FFs. In this paper, we also develop resource allocation schemes for multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) systems, using finite block length (FBL) coding, demonstrating attractive practical applications of FMP by optimizing the aforementioned metrics.

DRL-based Dolph-Tschebyscheff Beamforming in Downlink Transmission for Mobile Users

With the emergence of AI technologies in next-generation communication systems, machine learning plays a pivotal role due to its ability to address high-dimensional, non-stationary optimization problems within dynamic environments while maintaining computational efficiency. One such application is directional beamforming, achieved through learning-based blind beamforming techniques that utilize already existing radio frequency (RF) fingerprints of the user equipment obtained from the base stations and eliminate the need for additional hardware or channel and angle estimations. However, as the number of users and antenna dimensions increase, thereby expanding the problem's complexity, the learning process becomes increasingly challenging, and the performance of the learning-based method cannot match that of the optimal solution. In such a scenario, we propose a deep reinforcement learning-based blind beamforming technique using a learnable Dolph-Tschebyscheff antenna array that can change its beam pattern to accommodate mobile users. Our simulation results show that the proposed method can support data rates very close to the best possible values.

Rydberg Atomic Quantum Receivers for the Multi-User MIMO Uplink

Rydberg atomic quantum receivers exhibit great potential in assisting classical wireless communications due to their outstanding advantages in detecting radio frequency signals. To realize this potential, we integrate a Rydberg atomic quantum receiver into a classical multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scheme to form a multi-user Rydberg atomic quantum MIMO (RAQ-MIMO) system for the uplink. To study this system, we first construct an equivalent baseband signal model, which facilitates convenient system design, signal processing and optimizations. We then study the ergodic achievable rates under both the maximum ratio combining (MRC) and zero-forcing (ZF) schemes by deriving their tight lower bounds. We next compare the ergodic achievable rates of the RAQ-MIMO and the conventional massive MIMO schemes by offering a closed-form expression for the difference of their ergodic achievable rates, which allows us to directly compare the two systems. Our results show that RAQ-MIMO allows the average transmit power of users to be $\sim 20$ dBm lower than that of the conventional massive MIMO. Viewed from a different perspective, an extra $\sim 7$ bits/s/Hz/user rate becomes achievable by ZF RAQ-MIMO, when equipping $50 \sim 500$ receive elements for receiving $1 \sim 100$ user signals at an enough transmit power (e.g., $\ge 20$ dBm).