Adapting to Dynamic LEO-B5G Systems: Meta-Critic Learning Based Efficient Resource Scheduling

in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (2022), 21(11), 9582-9595

Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite-assisted communications have been considered as one of the key elements in beyond 5G systems to provide wide coverage and cost-efficient data services. Such dynamic space ... [more ▼]

Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite-assisted communications have been considered as one of the key elements in beyond 5G systems to provide wide coverage and cost-efficient data services. Such dynamic space-terrestrial topologies impose an exponential increase in the degrees of freedom in network management. In this paper, we address two practical issues for an over-loaded LEO-terrestrial system. The first challenge is how to efficiently schedule resources to serve a massive number of connected users, such that more data and users can be delivered/served. The second challenge is how to make the algorithmic solution more resilient in adapting to dynamic wireless environments. We first propose an iterative suboptimal algorithm to provide an offline benchmark. To adapt to unforeseen variations, we propose an enhanced meta-critic learning algorithm (EMCL), where a hybrid neural network for parameterization and the Wolpertinger policy for action mapping are designed in EMCL. The results demonstrate EMCL’s effectiveness and fast-response capabilities in over-loaded systems and in adapting to dynamic environments compare to previous actor-critic and meta-learning methods. [less ▲]

Actor‑critic learning‑based energy optimization for UAV access and backhaul networks

in EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking (2021)

In unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted networks, UAV acts as an aerial base station which acquires the requested data via backhaul link and then serves ground users (GUs) through an access network. In ... [more ▼]

In unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted networks, UAV acts as an aerial base station which acquires the requested data via backhaul link and then serves ground users (GUs) through an access network. In this paper, we investigate an energy minimization problem with a limited power supply for both backhaul and access links. The difficul- ties for solving such a non-convex and combinatorial problem lie at the high compu- tational complexity/time. In solution development, we consider the approaches from both actor-critic deep reinforcement learning (AC-DRL) and optimization perspectives. First, two offline non-learning algorithms, i.e., an optimal and a heuristic algorithms, based on piecewise linear approximation and relaxation are developed as benchmarks. Second, toward real-time decision-making, we improve the conventional AC-DRL and propose two learning schemes: AC-based user group scheduling and backhaul power allocation (ACGP), and joint AC-based user group scheduling and optimization-based backhaul power allocation (ACGOP). Numerical results show that the computation time of both ACGP and ACGOP is reduced tenfold to hundredfold compared to the offline approaches, and ACGOP is better than ACGP in energy savings. The results also verify the superiority of proposed learning solutions in terms of guaranteeing the feasibility and minimizing the system energy compared to the conventional AC-DRL. [less ▲]

A Framework for Optimizing Multi-cell NOMA: Delivering Demand with Less Resource

in 2017 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) (2017, December)

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) allows multiple users to simultaneously access the same time-frequency resource by using superposition coding and successive interference cancellation (SIC). Thus far ... [more ▼]

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) allows multiple users to simultaneously access the same time-frequency resource by using superposition coding and successive interference cancellation (SIC). Thus far, most papers on NOMA have focused on performance gain for one or sometimes two base stations. In this paper, we study multi-cell NOMA and provide a general framework for user clustering and power allocation, taking into account inter-cell interference, for optimizing resource allocation of NOMA in multi-cell networks of arbitrary topology. We provide a series of theoretical analysis, to algorithmically enable optimization approaches. The resulting algorithmic notion is very general. Namely, we prove that for any performance metric that monotonically increases in the cells’ resource consumption, we have convergence guarantee for global optimum. We apply the framework with its algorithmic concept to a multi-cell scenario to demonstrate the gain of NOMA in achieving significantly higher efficiency. [less ▲]

Fronthaul compression and optimization for cloud radio access networks

in 2016 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC) (2016)