Knowledge Distillation for Collaborative Learning in Distributed Communications and Sensing

The rise of sixth generation (6G) wireless networks promises to deliver ultra-reliable, low-latency, and energy-efficient communications, sensing, and computing. However, traditional centralized artificial intelligence (AI) paradigms are ill-suited to the decentralized, resource-constrained, and dynamic nature of 6G ecosystems. This paper explores knowledge distillation (KD) and collaborative learning as promising techniques that enable the efficient and scalable deployment of lightweight AI models across distributed communications and sensing (C&S) nodes. We begin by providing an overview of KD and highlight the key strengths that make it particularly effective in distributed scenarios characterized by device heterogeneity, task diversity, and constrained resources. We then examine its role in fostering collective intelligence through collaborative learning between the central and distributed nodes via various knowledge distilling and deployment strategies. Finally, we present a systematic numerical study demonstrating that KD-empowered collaborative learning can effectively support lightweight AI models for multi-modal sensing-assisted beam tracking applications with substantial performance gains and complexity reduction.

Knowledge Distillation for mmWave Beam Prediction Using Sub-6 GHz Channels

Beamforming in millimeter-wave (mmWave) high-mobility environments typically incurs substantial training overhead. While prior studies suggest that sub-6 GHz channels can be exploited to predict optimal mmWave beams, existing methods depend on large deep learning (DL) models with prohibitive computational and memory requirements. In this paper, we propose a computationally efficient framework for sub-6 GHz channel-mmWave beam mapping based on the knowledge distillation (KD) technique. We develop two compact student DL architectures based on individual and relational distillation strategies, which retain only a few hidden layers yet closely mimic the performance of large teacher DL models. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed student models achieve the teacher's beam prediction accuracy and spectral efficiency while reducing trainable parameters and computational complexity by 99%.

Impact of Pointing Error on Coverage Performance of 3D Indoor Terahertz Communication Systems

In this paper, we develop a tractable analytical framework for a three-dimensional (3D) indoor terahertz (THz) communication system to theoretically assess the impact of the pointing error on its coverage performance. Specifically, we model the locations of access points (APs) using a Poisson point process, human blockages as random cylinder processes, and wall blockages through a Boolean straight line process. A pointing error refers to beamforming gain and direction mismatch between the transmitter and receiver. We characterize it based on the inaccuracy of location estimate. We then analyze the impact of this pointing error on the received signal power and derive a tractable expression for the coverage probability, incorporating the multi-cluster fluctuating two-ray distribution to accurately model small-scale fading in THz communications. Aided by simulation results, we corroborate our analysis and demonstrate that the pointing error has a pronounced impact on the coverage probability. Specifically, we find that merely increasing the antenna array size is insufficient to improve the coverage probability and mitigate the detrimental impact of the pointing error, highlighting the necessity of advanced estimation techniques in THz communication systems.

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Hybrid RIS Assisted MIMO Communications

Hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (HRIS) enhance wireless systems by combining passive reflection with active signal amplification. However, jointly optimizing the transmit beamforming with the HRIS reflection and amplification coefficients to maximize spectral efficiency (SE) is a non-convex problem, and conventional iterative solutions are computationally intensive. To address this, we propose a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework that learns a direct mapping from channel state information to the near-optimal transmit beamforming and HRIS configurations. The DRL model is trained offline, after which it can compute the beamforming and HRIS configurations with low complexity and latency. Simulation results demonstrate that our DRL-based method achieves 95% of the SE obtained by the alternating optimization benchmark, while significantly lowering the computational complexity.

6G Resilience -- White Paper

6G must be designed to withstand, adapt to, and evolve amid prolonged, complex disruptions. Mobile networks' shift from efficiency-first to sustainability-aware has motivated this white paper to assert that resilience is a primary design goal, alongside sustainability and efficiency, encompassing technology, architecture, and economics. We promote resilience by analysing dependencies between mobile networks and other critical systems, such as energy, transport, and emergency services, and illustrate how cascading failures spread through infrastructures. We formalise resilience using the 3R framework: reliability, robustness, resilience. Subsequently, we translate this into measurable capabilities: graceful degradation, situational awareness, rapid reconfiguration, and learning-driven improvement and recovery. Architecturally, we promote edge-native and locality-aware designs, open interfaces, and programmability to enable islanded operations, fallback modes, and multi-layer diversity (radio, compute, energy, timing). Key enablers include AI-native control loops with verifiable behaviour, zero-trust security rooted in hardware and supply-chain integrity, and networking techniques that prioritise critical traffic, time-sensitive flows, and inter-domain coordination. Resilience also has a techno-economic aspect: open platforms and high-quality complementors generate ecosystem externalities that enhance resilience while opening new markets. We identify nine business-model groups and several patterns aligned with the 3R objectives, and we outline governance and standardisation. This white paper serves as an initial step and catalyst for 6G resilience. It aims to inspire researchers, professionals, government officials, and the public, providing them with the essential components to understand and shape the development of 6G resilience.

Positioning via Probabilistic Graphical Models in RIS-Aided Systems with Channel Estimation Errors

We propose a 6D Bayesian-based localization framework to estimate the position and rotation angles of a mobile station (MS) within an indoor reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-aided system. This framework relies on a probabilistic graphical model to represent the joint probability distribution of random variables through their conditional dependencies and employs the No-U-Turn Sampler (NUTS) to approximate the posterior distribution based on the estimated channel parameters. Our framework estimates both the position and rotation of the mobile station (MS), in the presence of channel parameter estimation errors. We derive the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the proposed scenario and use it to evaluate the system's position error bound (PEB) and rotation error bound (REB). We compare the system performances with and without RIS. The results demonstrate that the RIS can enhance positioning accuracy significantly.

RIS-assisted ISAC Systems for Industrial Revolution 6.0: Exploring the Near-field and Far-field Coexistence

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has emerged as a key technology for realizing the vision of Industry 6.0, requiring the seamless integration of diverse connected devices. In particular, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) plays a critical role in supporting real-time control and automation within IIoT systems. In this paper, we explore reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-assisted ISAC systems for IIoT in the coexistence of near-field and far-field regions. The system consists of a full-duplex access point (AP), a RIS and multiple IIoT devices, where the near-field devices simultaneously perform sensing and communication, while the far-field devices rely on a RIS-assisted communication. To enhance spectral efficiency for both sensing and communication functionalities, we consider the use of both traditional sensing-only (SO) and ISAC frequency bands. Moreover, uplink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is employed to facilitate the sequential decoding of superimposed communication and sensing signals from IIoT devices. To maximize sensing accuracy in terms of Cram${\Grave{\textrm{e}}}$r-Rao bound (CRB), we formulate a joint optimization of RIS phase shift, bandwidth splitting ratio and receive beamforming vector subject to the minimum data rate requirements of IIoT devices and resource budget constraints. The algorithmic solution is developed via the successive convex approximation (SCA)-based alternating optimization (AO) method with the semi-definite relaxation (SDR) technique. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly outperforms conventional methods relying solely on either ISAC or SO band by achieving superior performance across RIS and device configurations, while ensuring robust ISAC performance under the near-field and far-field coexistence scenarios.

Constrained Multimodal Sensing-Aided Communications: A Dynamic Beamforming Design

Using multimodal sensory data can enhance communications systems by reducing the overhead and latency in beam training. However, processing such data incurs high computational complexity, and continuous sensing results in significant power and bandwidth consumption. This gives rise to a tradeoff between the (multimodal) sensing data acquisition rate and communications performance. In this work, we develop a constrained multimodal sensing-aided communications framework where dynamic sensing and beamforming are performed under a sensing budget. Specifically, we formulate an optimization problem that maximizes the average received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of user equipment, subject to constraints on the average number of sensing actions and power budget. Using the Saleh-Valenzuela mmWave channel model, we construct the channel primarily based on position information obtained via multimodal sensing. Stricter sensing constraints reduce the availability of position data, leading to degraded channel estimation and thus lower performance. We apply Lyapunov optimization to solve the problem and derive a dynamic sensing and beamforming algorithm. Numerical evaluations on the DeepSense and Raymobtime datasets show that halving sensing times leads to only up to 7.7% loss in average SNR.

Exploiting Symmetric Non-Convexity for Multi-Objective Symbol-Level DFRC Signal Design

Symbol-level precoding (SLP) is a promising solution for addressing the inherent interference problem in dual-functional radar-communication (DFRC) signal designs. This paper considers an SLP-DFRC signal design problem which optimizes the radar performance under communication performance constraints. We show that a common phase modulation applied to the transmit signals from an antenna array does not affect the performance of different radar sensing metrics, including beampattern similarity, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), and Cram\'er-Rao lower bound (CRLB). We refer to this as symmetric-rotation invariance, upon which we develop low-complexity yet efficient DFRC signal design algorithms. More specifically, we propose a symmetric non-convexity (SNC)-based DFRC algorithm that relies on the non-convexity of the radar sensing metrics to identify a set of radar-only solutions. Based on these solutions, we further exploit the symmetry property of the radar sensing metrics to efficiently design the DFRC signal. We show that the proposed SNC-based algorithm is versatile in the sense that it can be applied to the DFRC signal optimization of all three sensing metrics mentioned above (beampattern, SINR, and CRLB). In addition, since the radar sensing metrics are independent of the communication channel and data symbols, the set of radar-only solutions can be constructed offline, thereby reducing the computational complexity. We also develop an accelerated SNC-based algorithm that further reduces the complexity. Finally, we numerically demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithms compared to existing methods in terms of sensing and communication performance as well as computational requirements.

Dynamic Joint Communications and Sensing Precoding Design: A Lyapunov Approach

This letter proposes a dynamic joint communications and sensing (JCAS) framework to adaptively design dedicated sensing and communications precoders. We first formulate a stochastic control problem to maximize the long-term average signal-to-noise ratio for sensing, subject to a minimum average communications signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio requirement and a power budget. Using Lyapunov optimization, specifically the drift-plus-penalty method, we cast the problem into a sequence of per-slot non-convex problems. To solve these problems, we develop a successive convex approximation method. Additionally, we derive a closed-form solution to the per-slot problems based on the notion of zero-forcing. Numerical evaluations demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methods and highlight their superiority compared to a baseline method based on conventional design.