Zhiqin Wang

Deep joint source-channel coding (DeepJSCC) has emerged as a promising paradigm for efficient and robust information transmission. However, its intrinsic characteristics also pose new security challenges, notably an increased vulnerability to eavesdropping attacks. Existing studies on defending against eavesdropping attacks in DeepJSCC, while demonstrating certain effectiveness, often incur considerable computational overhead or introduce performance trade-offs that may adversely affect legitimate users. In this paper, we present DeepGuard, to the best of our knowledge, the first physical-layer defense framework for DeepJSCC against eavesdropping attacks, validated through over-the-air experiments using software-defined radios (SDRs). Considering that existing eavesdropping attacks against DeepJSCC are limited to simulation under ideal channels, we take a step further by identifying and implementing four representative types of attacks under various configurations in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing systems. These attacks are evaluated over-the-air under diverse scenarios, allowing us to comprehensively characterize the real-world threat landscape. To mitigate these threats, DeepGuard introduces a novel preamble perturbation mechanism that modifies the preamble shared only between legitimate transceivers. To realize it, we first conduct a theoretical analysis of the perturbation’s impact on the signals intercepted by the eavesdropper. Building upon this, we develop an end-to-end perturbation optimization algorithm that significantly degrades eavesdropping performance while preserving reliable communication for legitimate users. We prototype DeepGuard using SDRs and conduct extensive over-the-air experiments in practical scenarios. Extensive experiments demonstrate that DeepGuard effectively mitigates eavesdropping threats while preserving reliable communication for legitimate users. In particular, DeepGuard can reduce the eavesdropper’s reconstruction performance by as much as 29 dB in PSNR and decrease classification accuracy by up to 91% compared with the performance achieved by the legitimate user.

In this article, a framework of artificial intelligence (AI)-native cross-module optimized physical layer with cooperative control agents is proposed, which involves optimization across global AI/machine learning (ML) modules of the physical layer with innovative design of multiple enhancement mechanisms and control strategies. Specifically, it achieves simultaneous optimization across global modules of uplink AI/ML-based joint source-channel coding with modulation, and downlink AI/ML-based modulation with precoding and corresponding data detection, reducing traditional inter-module information barriers to facilitate end-to-end optimization toward global objectives. Moreover, multiple enhancement mechanisms are also proposed, including i) an AI/ML-based cross-layer modulation approach with theoretical analysis for downlink transmission that breaks the isolation of inter-layer features to expand the solution space for determining improved constellation, ii) a utility-oriented precoder construction method that shifts the role of the AI/ML-based CSI feedback decoder from recovering the original CSI to directly generating precoding matrices aiming to improve end-to-end performance, and iii) incorporating modulation into AI/ML-based CSI feedback to bypass bit-level bottlenecks that introduce quantization errors, non-differentiable gradients, and limitations in constellation solution spaces. Furthermore, AI/ML-based control agents for optimized transmission schemes are proposed that leverage AI/ML to perform model switching according to channel state, thereby enabling integrated control for global throughput optimization. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed solutions in terms of block error rate and throughput. These extensive simulations employ more practical assumptions that are aligned with the requirements of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which hopefully provides valuable insights for future 3GPP standardization discussions.

In this article, a framework of AI-native cross-module optimized physical layer with cooperative control agents is proposed, which involves optimization across global AI/ML modules of the physical layer with innovative design of multiple enhancement mechanisms and control strategies. Specifically, it achieves simultaneous optimization across global modules of uplink AI/ML-based joint source-channel coding with modulation, and downlink AI/ML-based modulation with precoding and corresponding data detection, reducing traditional inter-module information barriers to facilitate end-to-end optimization toward global objectives. Moreover, multiple enhancement mechanisms are also proposed, including i) an AI/ML-based cross-layer modulation approach with theoretical analysis for downlink transmission that breaks the isolation of inter-layer features to expand the solution space for determining improved constellation, ii) a utility-oriented precoder construction method that shifts the role of the AI/ML-based CSI feedback decoder from recovering the original CSI to directly generating precoding matrices aiming to improve end-to-end performance, and iii) incorporating modulation into AI/ML-based CSI feedback to bypass bit-level bottlenecks that introduce quantization errors, non-differentiable gradients, and limitations in constellation solution spaces. Furthermore, AI/ML based control agents for optimized transmission schemes are proposed that leverage AI/ML to perform model switching according to channel state, thereby enabling integrated control for global throughput optimization. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed solutions in terms of BLER and throughput. These extensive simulations employ more practical assumptions that are aligned with the requirements of the 3GPP, which hopefully provides valuable insights for future standardization discussions.

Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) has attracted sustained interest. We propose a null-space-based transmission scheme for multiuser SWIPT serving both energy users (EUs) and information users (IUs). Under a practical nonlinear energy-harvesting (EH) model and multiple waveform options, we revisit the role of dedicated energy beams (EBs). We show that, in general, dedicated EBs are unnecessary because information beams (IBs) with Gaussian signaling can simultaneously support wireless energy transfer (WET) and wireless information transfer (WIT), unless special energy-centric waveforms (e.g., deterministic sinusoidal waveforms) are employed and provide sufficient gains. Guided by these insights, we formulate an optimization problem for EB design to enable dedicated waveform transmission for WET, and we develop a low-complexity algorithm that reduces computation by ignoring the WET contribution of IBs during optimization. Numerical results corroborate that deterministic sinusoidal waveforms outperform Gaussian signaling when the received RF power lies in the EH high-efficiency region, making dedicated EBs beneficial. The proposed scheme achieves computational complexity reductions of 91.43% and 98.54% for the cases $M=8,,K^{I}=K^{E}=2$ and $M=16,,K^{I}=K^{E}=4$, respectively, with negligible performance loss, thereby validating the efficiency of the low-complexity algorithm.

Deep joint source-channel coding (DeepJSCC) has emerged as a promising paradigm for efficient and robust information transmission. However, its intrinsic characteristics also pose new security challenges, notably an increased vulnerability to eavesdropping attacks. Existing studies on defending against eavesdropping attacks in DeepJSCC, while demonstrating certain effectiveness, often incur considerable computational overhead or introduce performance trade-offs that may adversely affect legitimate users. In this paper, we present DeepGuard, to the best of our knowledge, the first physical-layer defense framework for DeepJSCC against eavesdropping attacks, validated through over-the-air experiments using software-defined radios (SDRs). Considering that existing eavesdropping attacks against DeepJSCC are limited to simulation under ideal channels, we take a step further by identifying and implementing four representative types of attacks under various configurations in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing systems. These attacks are evaluated over-the-air under diverse scenarios, allowing us to comprehensively characterize the real-world threat landscape. To mitigate these threats, DeepGuard introduces a novel preamble perturbation mechanism that modifies the preamble shared only between legitimate transceivers. To realize it, we first conduct a theoretical analysis of the perturbation's impact on the signals intercepted by the eavesdropper. Building upon this, we develop an end-to-end perturbation optimization algorithm that significantly degrades eavesdropping performance while preserving reliable communication for legitimate users. We prototype DeepGuard using SDRs and conduct extensive over-the-air experiments in practical scenarios. Extensive experiments demonstrate that DeepGuard effectively mitigates eavesdropping threats.

Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) systems, implemented over mobile networks, represent a key technological orientation in the 6G era. Among various sensing enhancement techniques, cooperative sensing—particularly sensing fusion—stands out as a critical method for improving sensing accuracy. In this paper, we first establish a multi-base cooperative sensing channel model based on widely accepted ISAC channel frameworks. Next, we propose a novel multi base ISAC sensing fusion scheme leveraging channel measurement methods and the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) criterion. To validate our approach, we conduct simulations using the proposed multi-base cooperative sensing channel, which maintains spatiotemporal consistency throughout the analysis. Simulation results demonstrate that our multi-base ISAC sensing fusion scheme achieves significantly lower localization mean square errors (MSEs) compared to the existing fusion methods.

Deep learning-based joint source-channel coding (DeepJSCC) has emerged as a promising technique in 6G for enhancing the efficiency and reliability of data transmission across diverse modalities, particularly in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments. This advantage is realized by leveraging powerful neural networks to learn an optimal end-to-end mapping from the source data directly to the transmit symbol sequence, eliminating the need for separate source coding, channel coding, and modulation. Although numerous efforts have been made towards efficient DeepJSCC, they have largely stayed at numerical simulations that can be far from practice, leaving the real-world viability of DeepJSCC largely unverified. To this end, we prototype DeepStream upon orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology to offer efficient and robust DeepJSCC for multimedia transmission. In conforming to OFDM, we develop both a feature-to-symbol mapping method and a cross-subcarrier precoding method to improve the subcarrier independence and reduce peak-to-average power ratio. To reduce system complexity and enable flexibility in accommodating varying quality of service requirements, we further propose a progressive coding strategy that adjusts the compression ratio based on latency with minimal performance loss. We implement DeepStream for real-time image transmission and video streaming using software-defined radio. Extensive evaluations verify that DeepStream outperforms both the standard scheme and the direct deployment scheme. Particularly, at an SNR of 10 dB, DeepStream achieves a PSNR of 35 dB for image transmission and an MS-SSIM of 20 dB for video streaming, whereas the standard scheme fails to recover meaningful information.

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is considered as a promising technology for the next-generation wireless communications. As the ISAC-powered base station (BS) integrates both communication and sensing capabilities, the testing system must possess the ability to test both aspects simultaneously. In this work, a novel channel emulator (CE)-enabled over-the-air (OTA) testing platform for ISAC systems is proposed. The main idea is to extend the basic channel emulation capabilities of the CE, which has been employed mainly for communication testing, to generate deceptive echoes for sensing testing, thereby achieving a comprehensive evaluation of the joint communication and sensing functionalities of ISAC BSs. The proposed testing platform is cost-efficient, as it extends the functionality of the existing CE without introducing new and expensive instruments. The platform is also capable of emulating diverse realistic propagation scenarios for ISAC testing. Since the CE is not specifically designed for sensing test, we conduct experimental investigations to explore the capabilities and limitations of the CE in delay and Doppler emulations. Finally, a commercial vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) radar is tested using the proposed platform, and the results indicate that the CE possesses potential to support ISAC BS testing.

This paper is based on the background of the 2nd Wireless Communication Artificial Intelligence (AI) Competition (WAIC) which is hosted by IMT-2020(5G) Promotion Group 5G+AI Work Group, where the framework of the eigenvector-based channel state information (CSI) feedback problem is firstly provided. Then a basic Transformer backbone for CSI feedback referred to EVCsiNet-T is proposed. Moreover, a series of potential enhancements for deep learning based (DL-based) CSI feedback including i) data augmentation, ii) loss function design, iii) training strategy, and iv) model ensemble are introduced. The experimental results involving the comparison between EVCsiNet-T and traditional codebook methods over different channels are further provided, which show the advanced performance and a promising prospect of Transformer on DL-based CSI feedback problem.