Communications

Join the IEEE Kingston Communications Society Chapter for the Virtual Distinguished Lecture: Localization in Drone Assisted and Vehicular Networks, presented by Shahrokh Valaee. Contact: IEEE Kingston ComSoc Abstract: The next generation of wireless systems will employ networking equipment mounted on mobile platforms, unmanned air vehicles (UAV), and low orbit satellites. As a result, the topology of 6G wireless technology will extend to 3D vertical networking. With its extended service, 6G will also give rise to new challenges which include, the introduction of intelligent reflective surfaces (IRS), the mmWave spectrum, the employment of massive MIMO systems, and the agility of networks. Along with the advancement in networking technology, user devices are also evolving rapidly, with the emergence of highly capable cellphones, smart IoT equipment, and wearable devices. One of the key elements of 6G technology is the need for accurate positioning information. The accuracy of today’s positioning systems is not acceptable for many applications of future, especially in smart environments. In this talk, we will discuss how positioning can be a key enabler of 6G, and what challenges the next generation of localization technology will face when integrated within the new wireless networks. Speaker(s): Shahrokh Valaee Biography: Shahrokh Valaee is a Professor with the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, and the holder of Nortel Chair of Network Architectures and Services. He is the Founder and the Director of the Wireless and Internet Research Laboratory (WIRLab) at the University of Toronto. Professor Valaee was the TPC Co-Chair and the Local Organization Chair of the IEEE Personal Mobile Indoor Radio Communication (PIMRC) Symposium 2011. He was the TCP Chair of PIMRC2017, the Track Co-Chair of WCNC 2014, the TPC Co-Chair of ICT 2015. He has been the guest editor for various journals. He was a Track Co-chair for PIMRC 2020 and VTC Fall 2020. From December 2010 to December 2012, he was the Associate Editor of the IEEE Signal Processing Letters. From 2010 to 2015, he served as an Editor of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications. Currently, he is an Editor of Journal of Computer and System Science. Professor Valaee is a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and a Fellow of IEEE.

There have been rapid and exciting developments in recent years in satellite networks, in particular, in LEO mega-constellations such as SpaceX's Starlink. Although less visible, exciting developments have also been taking place in a certain type of aerial networks known as the high-altitude platform station (HAPS) systems, such as the formation of HAPS Alliance which brings together the connectivity and aerospace industries. It is worth noting that the satellite and aerial networks discussions have been occurring exclusively in the context of remote and rural connectivity. A major concern in this context is the rather questionable business case; there is limited revenue in rural and remote regions. In this talk, a novel vision will be presented for an integrated terrestrial-aerial-satellite networks architecture as a key enabler for the super smart cities of 2030s and beyond Speaker: Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu Biography: Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu is a Professor at Carleton University, Canada. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1998. He contributed to 4G/5G technologies and standards; his research focus in recent years has been on 6G and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). His extensive collaboration with industry resulted in 37 granted patents. He supervised or hosted in his lab around 140 postgraduate researchers. He co-authored IEEE papers with faculty members in 80+ universities in 25 countries. He is a Fellow of IEEE, Engineering Institute of Canada, and Canadian Academy of Engineering, and an IEEE Distinguished Speaker for Communications Society (ComSoc) and Vehicular Technology Society (VTS). He is currently chairing the IEEE WCNC (Wireless Communications and Networking Conference) Steering Committee; he is also a member of PIMRC Steering Committee and ComSoc Emerging Technologies Committee. He served as the General Chair of two VTCs and Technical Program Chair/Co-Chair of three WCNCs. He chaired ComSoc Technical Committee on Personal Communications. He received several awards for his research, teaching, and service including IEEE ComSoc Fred W. Ellersick Prize (2021), IEEE VTS Stuart Meyer Memorial Award (2020), and IEEE ComSoc Wireless Communications Technical Committee Recognition Award (2018).

Join us for the IEEE Virtual Distinguished Lecture "Deep Learning for Physical Layer Communications: An Attempt towards 6G" presented by Prof. Feifei Gao of Tsinghua University, China. Contact: IEEE Kingston ComSoc Chapter Abstract: Merging artificial intelligence into the system design has appeared as a new trend in wireless communications areas and has been deemed as one of the 6G technologies. In this talk, we will present how to apply the deep neural network (DNN) for various aspects of physical layer communications design, including the channel estimation, channel prediction, channel feedback, data detection, and beamforming, etc. We will also present a promising new approach that is driven by both the communications data and the communication models. It will be seen that the DNN can be used to enhance the performance of the existing technologies once there is model mismatch. More interestingly, we will show that applying DNN can deal with the conventionally unsolvable problems, thanks to the universal approximation capability of DNN. With the well-defined propagation model in communication areas, we also attempt to explain the DNN under the scenario of channel estimation and reach a strong conclusion that DNN can always provide the asymptotically optimal channel estimations. We have also build test-bed to show the effectiveness of the AI aided wireless communications. In all, DNN is shown to be a very powerful tool for communications and would make the communications protocols more intelligently. Nevertheless, as a new born stuff, one should carefully select suitable scenarios for applying DNN rather than simply spreading it everywhere. Biography: Prof. Gao's research interest include signal processing for communications, array signal processing, convex optimizations, and artificial intelligence assisted communications. He has authored/ coauthored more than 150 refereed IEEE journal papers and more than 150 IEEE conference proceeding papers that are cited more than 10000 times in Google Scholar. Prof. Gao has served as an Editor of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing (Lead Guest Editor), IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking, IEEE Signal Processing Letters, IEEE Communications Letters, IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, and China Communications. He has also serves as the symposium co-chair for 2019 IEEE Conference on Communications (ICC), 2018 IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference Spring (VTC), 2015 IEEE Conference on Communications (ICC), 2014 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), 2014 IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference Fall (VTC), as well as Technical Committee Members for more than 50 IEEE conferences.