Machine Learning is the study of methods for programming computers to learn. Computers are applied to a wide range of tasks, and for most of these it is relatively easy for programmers to design and implement the necessary software. However, there are many tasks for which this is difficult or impossible. These can be divided into four general categories. First, there are problems for which there exist no human experts. For example, in modern automated manufacturing facilities, there is a need to predict machine failures before they occur by analyzing sensor readings. Because the machines are new, there are no human experts who can be interviewed by a programmer to provide the knowledge necessary to build a computer system. A machine learning system can study recorded data and subsequent machine failures and learn prediction rules. Second, there are problems where human experts exist, but where they are unable to explain their expertise. This is the case in many perceptual tasks, such as speech recognition, hand-writing recognition, and natural language understanding. Virtually all humans exhibit expert-level abilities on these tasks, but none of them can describe the detailed steps that they follow as they perform them. Fortunately, humans can provide machines with examples of the inputs and correct outputs for these tasks, so machine learning algorithms can learn to map the inputs to the outputs. Third, there are problems where phenomena are changing rapidly. In finance, for example, people would like to predict the future behavior of the stock market, of consumer purchases, or of exchange rates. These behaviors change frequently, so that even if a programmer could construct a good predictive computer program, it would need to be rewritten frequently. A learning program can relieve the programmer of this burden by constantly modifying and tuning a set of learned prediction rules. Fourth, there are applications that need to be customized for each computer user separately. Consider, for example, a program to filter unwanted electronic mail messages. Different users will need different filters. It is unreasonable to expect each user to program his or her own rules, and it is infeasible to provide every user with a software engineer to keep the rules up-to-date. A machine learning system can learn which mail messages the user rejects and maintain the filtering rules automatically. Machine learning addresses many of the same research questions as the fields of statistics, data mining, and psychology, but with differences of emphasis. Statistics focuses on understanding the phenomena that have generated the data, often with the goal of testing different hypotheses about those phenomena. Data mining seeks to find patterns in the data that are understandable by people. Psychological studies of human learning aspire to understand the mechanisms underlying the various learning behaviors exhibited by people (concept learning, skill acquisition, strategy change, etc.).

Machine learning

Fueled by the availability of more data and computing power, recent breakthroughs in cloud-based machine learning (ML) have transformed every aspect of our lives from face recognition and medical diagnosis to natural language processing. However, classical ML exerts severe demands in terms of energy, memory, and computing resources, limiting their adoption for resource-constrained edge devices. The new breed of intelligent devices and high-stake applications (drones, augmented/virtual reality, autonomous systems, and so on) requires a novel paradigm change calling for distributed, low-latency and reliable ML at the wireless network edge (referred to as edge ML). In edge ML, training data are unevenly distributed over a large number of edge nodes, which have access to a tiny fraction of the data. Moreover, training and inference are carried out collectively over wireless links, where edge devices communicate and exchange their learned models (not their private data). In a first of its kind, this article explores the key building blocks of edge ML, different neural network architectural splits and their inherent tradeoffs, as well as theoretical and technical enablers stemming from a wide range of mathematical disciplines. Finally, several case studies pertaining to various high-stake applications are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of edge ML in unlocking the full potential of 5G and beyond.

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Wireless Network Intelligence at the Edge

Fueled by the availability of more data and computing power, recent breakthroughs in cloud-based machine learning (ML) have transformed every aspect of our lives from face recognition and medical diagnosis to natural language processing. However, classical ML exerts severe demands in terms of energy, memory and computing resources, limiting their adoption for resource constrained edge devices. The new breed of intelligent devices and high-stake applications (drones, augmented/virtual reality, autonomous systems, etc.), requires a novel paradigm change calling for distributed, low-latency and reliable ML at the wireless network edge (referred to as edge ML). In edge ML, training data is unevenly distributed over a large number of edge nodes, which have access to a tiny fraction of the data. Moreover training and inference is carried out collectively over wireless links, where edge devices communicate and exchange their learned models (not their private data). In a first of its kind, this article explores key building blocks of edge ML, different neural network architectural splits and their inherent tradeoffs, as well as theoretical and technical enablers stemming from a wide range of mathematical disciplines. Finally, several case studies pertaining to various high-stake applications are presented demonstrating the effectiveness of edge ML in unlocking the full potential of 5G and beyond.

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a key technology to meet the user demands in performance and quality of services (QoS) for next generation communication systems. Due to a large number of antennas and radio frequency (RF) chains, complexity of the symbol detectors increased rapidly in a massive MIMO uplink receiver. Thus, the research to find the perfect massive MIMO detection algorithm with optimal performance and low complexity has gained a lot of attention during the past decade. A plethora of massive MIMO detection algorithms has been proposed in the literature. The aim of this paper is to provide insights on such algorithms to a generalist of wireless communications. We garner the massive MIMO detection algorithms and classify them so that a reader can find a distinction between different algorithms from a wider range of solutions. We present optimal and near-optimal detection principles specifically designed for the massive MIMO system such as detectors based on a local search, belief propagation and box detection. In addition, we cover detectors based on approximate inversion, which has gained popularity among the VLSI signal processing community due to their deterministic dataflow and low complexity. We also briefly explore several nonlinear small-scale MIMO (2-4 antenna receivers) detectors and their applicability in the massive MIMO context. In addition, we present recent advances of detection algorithms which are mostly based on machine learning or sparsity based algorithms. In each section, we also mention the related implementations of the detectors. A discussion of the pros and cons of each detector is provided.

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Massive MIMO Detection Techniques: A Survey

Nowadays, 5G is in its initial phase of commercialization. The 5G network will revolutionize the existing wireless network with its enhanced capabilities and novel features. 5G New Radio (5G NR), referred to as the global standardization of 5G, is presently under the $3^{\mathrm {rd}}$ Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and can be operable over the wide range of frequency bands from less than 6GHz to mmWave (100GHz). 3GPP mainly focuses on the three major use cases of 5G NR that are comprised of Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication (uRLLC), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). For meeting the targets of 5G NR, multiple features like scalable numerology, flexible spectrum, forward compatibility, and ultra-lean design are added as compared to the LTE systems. This paper presents a brief overview of the added features and key performance indicators of 5G NR. The issues related to the adaptation of higher modulation schemes and inter-RAT handover synchronization are well addressed in this paper. With the consideration of these challenges, a next-generation wireless communication architecture is proposed. The architecture acts as the platform for migration towards beyond 5G/6G networks. Along with this, various technologies and applications of 6G networks are also overviewed in this paper. 6G network will incorporate Artificial intelligence (AI) based services, edge computing, quantum computing, optical wireless communication, hybrid access, and tactile services. For enabling these diverse services, a virtualized network slicing based architecture of 6G is proposed. Various ongoing projects on 6G and its technologies are also listed in this paper.

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A Survey on Beyond 5G Network With the Advent of 6G: Architecture and Emerging Technologies

The fifth generation (5G) of the mobile networks is envisioned to feature two major service classes: ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). URLLC applications require a stringent one-way radio latency of 1 ms with 99.999% success probability while eMBB services demand extreme data rates. The coexistence of the URLLC and eMBB quality of service (QoS) on the same radio spectrum leads to a challenging scheduling optimization problem, that is vastly different from that of the current cellular technology. This calls for the novel scheduling solutions which cross-optimize the system performance on a user-centric, instead of network-centric basis. In this paper, a null-space-based spatial preemptive scheduler for joint URLLC and eMBB traffic is proposed for the densely populated 5G networks. Proposed scheduler framework seeks for cross-objective optimization, where the critical URLLC QoS is guaranteed while extracting the maximum possible eMBB ergodic capacity. It utilizes the system spatial degrees of freedom in order to instantly offer an interference-free subspace for the critical URLLC traffic. Thus, a sufficient URLLC decoding ability is always preserved, and with the minimal impact on the eMBB performance. Analytical analysis and extensive system level simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheduler against the state-of-the-art scheduler proposals from industry and academia. Simulation results show that the proposed scheduler offers extremely robust URLLC latency performance with a significantly improved ergodic capacity.

Opportunistic Spatial Preemptive Scheduling for URLLC and eMBB Coexistence in Multi-User 5G Networks

5G new radio is envisioned to support three major service classes: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications. Emerging URLLC services require up to one millisecond of communication latency with 99.999% success probability. Though, there is a fundamental trade-off between system spectral efficiency (SE) and achievable latency. This calls for novel scheduling protocols which cross-optimize system performance on user-centric; instead of network-centric basis. In this paper, we develop a joint multi-user preemptive scheduling strategy to simultaneously cross-optimize system SE and URLLC latency. At each scheduling opportunity, available URLLC traffic is always given higher priority. When sporadic URLLC traffic appears during a transmission time interval (TTI), proposed scheduler seeks for fitting the URLLC-eMBB traffic in a multi-user transmission. If the available spatial degrees of freedom are limited within a TTI, the URLLC traffic instantly overwrites part of the ongoing eMBB transmissions to satisfy the URLLC latency requirements, at the expense of minimal eMBB throughput loss. Extensive dynamic system level simulations show that proposed scheduler provides significant performance gain in terms of eMBB SE and URLLC latency.

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Multi-User Preemptive Scheduling For Critical Low Latency Communications in 5G Networks

In this paper, we propose a null-space-based preemptive scheduling framework for cross-objective optimization to always guarantee robust URLLC performance, while extracting the maximum possible eMBB capacity. The proposed scheduler perpetually grants incoming URLLC traffic a higher priority for instant scheduling. In case that radio resources are not immediately schedulable, proposed scheduler forcibly enforces an artificial spatial user separation, for the URLLC traffic to get instantly scheduled over shared resources with ongoing eMBB transmissions. A pre-defined reference spatial subspace is constructed for which scheduler instantly picks the active eMBB user whose precoder is the closest possible. Then, it projects the eMBB precoder on-the-go onto the reference subspace, in order for its paired URLLC user to orient its decoder matrix into one possible null space of the reference subspace. Hence, a robust decoding ability is always preserved at the URLLC user, while cross-maximizing the ergodic capacity. Compared to the state-of-the-art proposals from industry and academia, proposed scheduler shows extreme URLLC latency robustness with significantly improved overall spectral efficiency. Analytical analysis and extensive system level simulations are presented to support paper conclusions.

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Null Space Based Preemptive Scheduling for Joint URLLC and eMBB Traffic in 5G Networks

Channel state information (CSI) acquisition is a crucial issue in downlink FDD-based massive multi-input multioutput (MIMO) networks, where the channel reciprocity is not applicable. Thus, users are expected to feedback the bestmatch quantized channels to serving transmitters. Hence, an extensively large size of the feedback overhead is needed, which is linearly scaled at each user with the number of transmit antennas at the base-station (BS). In turn, the uplink (UL) channel capacity may be consumed and the overall performance becomes fundamentally limited by the downlink (DL) channel quantization precision. An alternative CSI acquisition scheme is critically needed. In this paper, we propose a novel FDD massive MIMO system based on a spatial DL channel estimation scheme; it relies on the statistical spatial correlation of the UL and DL channel clusters, given an arbitrary frequency band gap between the UL and DL channels. A transformation matrix is constructed to precode the observed UL channel on the estimated dominant DL angles of departure. The proposed scheme significantly outperforms the recent state-of-the-art techniques, without the cost of user feedback overhead bits and prior knowledge of the channel statistics.

A novel FDD massive MIMO system based on downlink spatial channel estimation without CSIT

Accurate downlink link adaptation is a major challenge for ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) as a consequence of the random and unpredictable load variations at the interfering cells. To address this problem, this paper introduces enhancements to the channel quality indicator (CQI) measurement and reporting procedures for 5G New Radio (NR). The goal is to accurately estimate and report the lower percentiles of the user channel quality distribution. First, a simple and efficient technique is proposed for filtering the channel quality samples collected at the user equipment and, accordingly, estimating tail signal-to-interference-and-noise (SINR) performance. Second, a new CQI reporting format is introduced which better guides downlink scheduling and link adaptation decisions of small URLLC payloads at the gNB. The benefits of the proposed solutions are evaluated via advanced system-level simulations, where it is shown that the proposed solutions significantly outperform existing CQI measurement and reporting schemes. For instance, the 99.999% percentile of the experienced latency is reduced from 1.3 ms to 0.86 ms for the case when URLLC traffic is multiplexed with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) traffic.

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Ali A. Esswie

Papers

Opportunistic Spatial Preemptive Scheduling for URLLC and eMBB Coexistence in Multi-User 5G Networks

Multi-User Preemptive Scheduling For Critical Low Latency Communications in 5G Networks

Null Space Based Preemptive Scheduling for Joint URLLC and eMBB Traffic in 5G Networks

A novel FDD massive MIMO system based on downlink spatial channel estimation without CSIT

Channel Quality Feedback Enhancements for Accurate URLLC Link Adaptation in 5G Systems