Signal Processing
Using STAR-IRS to Secure Indoor Communications Through Symbol-Level Random Phase Modulation
Yanan Du, Zeyang Sun, Yilan Zhang et al. (+2 more)
This paper proposes a secure indoor communication scheme based on simultaneous transmitting and reflecting intelligent reflecting surface (
STAR-IRS). Specifically, a transmitter (Alice) sends confidential information to its intended user (Bob) indoors, while several eavesdroppers (Eves) lurk outside. To safeguard the transmission from eavesdropping, the
STAR-IRS is deployed on walls or windows. Upon impinging on the
STAR-IRS, the incoming electromagnetic wave is dynamically partitioned into two components, enabling both transmission through and reflection from the surface. The reflected signal is controlled to enhance reception at Bob, while the transmitted signal is modulated with symbol-level random phase shifts to degrade the signal quality at Eves. Based on such a setting, the secrecy rate maximization problem is formulated. To solve it, a graph neural network (GNN)-based scheme is developed. Furthermore, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based GNN accelerator is designed to reduce computational latency. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy outperforms both the conventional scheme and the reflection-only scheme in terms of secrecy performance. Moreover, the GNN-based approach achieves superior results compared to
benchmark techniques such as maximum ratio transmission (MRT), zero forcing (ZF), and minimum mean square error (MMSE) in solving the optimization problem. Finally, experimental evaluations confirm that the FPGA-based accelerator enables low inference latency.
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All authors Yanan Du, Zeyang Sun, Yilan Zhang, Sai Xu, Beiyuan Liu
Signal Processing
Based on Deep Neural Networks: A Machine Learning-Assisted Channel Estimation Method for MIMO Systems
Haoran He
This paper proposes a machine learning-assisted channel estimation approach for massive
MIMO systems, leveraging DNNs to outperform traditional LS and MMSE methods. In 5G and beyond, accurate channel estimation mitigates pilot contamination and high mobility issues that harm system reliability. The proposed DNN architecture includes multi-layer perceptrons with ReLU activation, 3 hidden layers (256, 128, 64
neurons respectively), uses Adam optimizer (learning rate 1e-4) and MSE loss function. It learns from pilot signals to predict channel
matrices, achieving lower NMSE and BER across different SNR levels. Simulations use the COST 2100 public standard
dataset (a well-recognized
MIMO channel
dataset for 5G, not synthetic
datasets) with 10,000 samples of 4x4
MIMO channels under urban macro scenarios. Results show the DNN outperforms LS and MMSE by 3-5 dB in NMSE at medium SNR, with robust performance in high-mobility scenarios. The study evaluates metrics like NMSE vs. SNR, BER vs. SNR, and sensitivity to pilot length,
antenna configurations, and computational complexity. The DNN has 2.3 GFlOPs computational complexity, 15.6k parameters, and 1.8 ms inference time on Raspberry Pi 4, verifying deployment feasibility. This work advances ML integration in wireless communications, facilitating efficient resource allocation and improved spectral efficiency in next-generation networks. Future work may use more real-world
datasets and hybrid architectures for better generalization.
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Signal Processing
A Closed-form Expression of the Gaussian Noise Model Supporting O-Band Transmission
Zelin Gan, Henrique Buglia, Romulo Aparecido et al. (+6 more)
We present a novel closed-form model for nonlinear interference (NLI) estimation in low-dispersion O-band transmission systems. The formulation incorporates the four-wave mixing (FWM) efficiency term as well as the coherent contributions of self- and cross-phase modulation (SPM/XPM) across multiple identical spans. This extension enables accurate evaluation of the NLI in scenarios where conventional closed-form Gaussian Noise (GN) models are limited. The proposed model is validated against split-step
Fourier method (SSFM) simulations and numerical integration across 41-161 channels, with a 96 GBaud symbol rate, bandwidths of up to 16.1 THz, and transmission distances from 80 to 800 km. Results show a mean absolute error of the NLI signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) below 0.22 dB. The proposed closed-form model offers an efficient and accurate tool for system optimisation in O-band coherent transmission.
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All authors Zelin Gan, Henrique Buglia, Romulo Aparecido, Mindaugas Jarmolovičius, Eric Sillekens, Jiaqian Yang, Ronit Sohanpal, Robert I. Killey, Polina Bayvel
Systems and Control
Quantum Deception: Honey-X Deception using Quantum Games
Efstratios Reppas, Ali Wadi, Brendan Gould et al. (+1 more)
In this paper, we develop a framework for deception in
quantum games, extending the Honey-X paradigm from classical zero-sum settings into the
quantum domain. Building on a view of deception in classical games as manipulation of a player's perception of the payoff
matrix, we formalize
quantum deception as controlled perturbations of the payoff
Hamiltonian subject to a deception budget. We show that when victims are aware of possible deception, their
equilibrium strategies surprisingly coincide with those of naive victims who fully trust the deceptive
Hamiltonian. This equivalence allows us to cast
quantum deception as a bilevel optimization problem, which can be reformulated into a bilinear semidefinite program. To illustrate the framework, we present simulations on
quantum versions of the Penny Flip game, demonstrating how
quantum strategy spaces and non-classical payoffs can amplify the impact of deception relative to classical formulations.
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All authors Efstratios Reppas, Ali Wadi, Brendan Gould, Kyriakos G. Vamvoudakis
Systems and Control
Analysis of the Geometric Heat Flow Equation: Computing Geodesics in Real-Time with Convergence Guarantees
Samuel G. Gessow and Brett T. Lopez
We present an analysis on the convergence properties of the so-called
geometric heat flow equation for computing geodesics (extremal curves) on Riemannian
manifolds. Computing geodesics numerically in real time has become an important capability across several fields, including control and motion planning. The
geometric heat flow equation involves solving a
parabolic partial differential equation whose solution is a geodesic. In practice, solving this PDE numerically can be done efficiently, and tends to be more numerically stable and exhibit a better rate of convergence compared to numerical optimization. We prove that the
geometric heat flow equation is exponentially stable in $L_2$ if the
curvature of the Riemannian
manifold does not exceed a positive bound and that asymptotic convergence in $L_2$ is always guaranteed. We also present a pseudospectral method that leverages Chebyshev
polynomials to accurately compute geodesics in only a few milliseconds for non-contrived
manifolds. Our analysis was verified with our custom pseudospectral method by computing geodesics on common non-Euclidean surfaces, and in feedback for a contraction-based controller with a non-flat metric for a nonlinear system.
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Systems and Control · Cross-listed from cs.RO
Ego-Vision World Model for Humanoid Contact Planning
Hang Liu, Yuman Gao, Sangli Teng et al. (+5 more)
Enabling
humanoid robots to exploit physical contact, rather than simply avoid collisions, is crucial for autonomy in unstructured environments. Traditional optimization-based planners struggle with contact complexity, while on-policy reinforcement learning (RL) is sample-inefficient and has limited multi-task ability. We propose a framework combining a learned world model with sampling-based Model Predictive Control (MPC), trained on a demonstration-free offline
dataset to predict future outcomes in a compressed latent space. To address sparse contact rewards and sensor noise, the MPC uses a learned surrogate value function for dense, robust planning. Our single, scalable model supports contact-aware tasks, including wall support after perturbation, blocking incoming objects, and traversing height-limited arches, with improved sample efficiency and multi-task capability over on-policy RL. Deployed on a physical
humanoid, our system achieves robust, real-time contact planning from proprioception and ego-centric depth images. Code and
dataset are available at our website: https://ego-vcp.github.io/
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All authors Hang Liu, Yuman Gao, Sangli Teng, Yufeng Chi, Yakun Sophia Shao, Zhongyu Li, Maani Ghaffari, Koushil Sreenath
Signal Processing
Leaky Wave Antennas for Next Generation Wireless Applications in sub-THz Frequencies: Current Status and Research Challenges
Natalie Lang, Atsutse K. Kludze, Nir Shlezinger et al. (+4 more)
The ever-growing demand for ultra-high data rates, massive connectivity, and joint communication-sensing capabilities in future wireless networks is driving research into sub-terahertz (sub-THz) communications. While these frequency bands offer abundant spectrum, they also pose severe propagation and hardware design challenges, motivating the search for alternative
antenna solutions beyond conventional
antenna arrays. Leaky-wave
antennas (LWAs) have emerged as a promising candidate for sub-THz systems due to their simple feed structure, low fabrication cost, and inherent angle-frequency coupling, which enables frequency-controlled beamsteering with simple hardware. In this article, we review the fundamentals of the LWA technology, highlight their unique properties, and showcase their potential in multi-user wideband sub-THz wireless communications. We present representative studies demonstrating that LWAs can simultaneously support high-rate multi-user communications and accurate localization using only a single
antenna element. Finally, several key open challenges are outlined, spanning
algorithm design, signal processing, information theory, standardization, and hardware implementation, that need to be addressed to fully harness LWAs as a cost-effective and scalable enabler of next generations of wireless systems.
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All authors Natalie Lang, Atsutse K. Kludze, Nir Shlezinger, Yasaman Ghasempour, Tirza Routtenberg, George C. Alexandropoulos, Yonina C. Eldar
Signal Processing
Bayesian Self-Calibration and Parametric Channel Estimation for 6G Antenna Arrays
Patrick Hödl, Jakob Möderl, Erik Leitinger et al. (+1 more)
Accurate channel estimation is essential for both high-rate communication and high-precision sensing in 6G wireless systems. However, a major performance limitation arises from calibration mismatches when operating phased-array
antennas under real-world conditions. To address this issue, we propose to integrate
antenna element self-calibration into a variational sparse
Bayesian learning (VSBL)
algorithm for parametric channel estimation. We model
antenna gain and phase deviations as latent variables and derive explicit update equations to jointly infer these calibration parameters and the channel parameters; the number of multipath components (MPCs) along with their complex amplitudes, delays, and angles-of-arrival (AoA), as well as the noise variance. We assess its performance in terms of the optimal subpattern-assignment (OSPA) metric, demonstrating consistent improvements over conventional VSBL without calibration. Furthermore, we show that integrating the estimation of the calibration parameters into the VSBL
algorithm actually increases convergence speed, since a missing or wrong calibration results in the additional estimation of spurious components.
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All authors Patrick Hödl, Jakob Möderl, Erik Leitinger, Klaus Witrisal
Systems and Control
Smooth Spatiotemporal Tube Synthesis for Prescribed-Time Reach-Avoid-Stay Control
Siddhartha Upadhyay, Ratnangshu Das and Pushpak Jagtap
In this work, we address the issue of controller synthesis for a control-affine nonlinear system to meet prescribed time reach-avoid-stay specifications. Our goal is to improve upon previous methods based on spatiotemporal tubes (STTs) by eliminating the need for circumvent functions, which often lead to abrupt tube modifications and high control effort. We propose an adaptive framework that constructs smooth STTs around static unsafe sets, enabling continuous avoidance while guiding the system toward the target within the prescribed time. A closed-form, approximation-free control law is derived to ensure the system trajectory remains within the tube and satisfies the RAS task. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a case study, showing a significant reduction in control effort compared to prior methods.
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Signal Processing
Beyond the Use-and-then-Forget (UatF) Bound: Fixed Point Algorithms for Statistical Max-Min Power Control
Renato Luis Garrido Cavalcante, Noor Ul Ain, Lorenzo Miretti et al. (+1 more)
We introduce mathematical tools and fixed point
algorithms for optimal statistical max-min power control in cellular and
cell-less massive
MIMO systems. Unlike previous studies that rely on the use-and-then-forget (UatF) lower bound on Shannon achievable (ergodic) rates, our proposed framework can deal with alternative bounds that explicitly consider perfect or imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the decoder. In doing so, we address limitations of UatF-based power control
algorithms, which inherit the shortcomings of the UatF bound. For example, the UatF bound can be overly conservative: in extreme cases, under fully statistical (nonadaptive) beamforming in zero-mean channels, the UatF bound produces trivial (zero) rate bounds. It also lacks scale invariance: a realization-dependent random scaling of the beamformers can change the bound drastically. In contrast, our framework is compatible with information-theoretic bounds that do not suffer from the above drawbacks. We illustrate the framework by solving a max-min power control problem considering a standard bound that exploits instantaneous CSI at the decoder.
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All authors Renato Luis Garrido Cavalcante, Noor Ul Ain, Lorenzo Miretti, Slawomir Stanczak
Systems and Control · Cross-listed from cs.RO
IntersectioNDE: Learning Complex Urban Traffic Dynamics based on Interaction Decoupling Strategy
Enli Lin, Ziyuan Yang, Qiujing Lu et al. (+2 more)
Realistic traffic simulation is critical for ensuring the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles (AVs), especially in complex and diverse urban traffic environments. However, existing data-driven simulators face two key challenges: a limited focus on modeling dense, heterogeneous interactions at urban intersections - which are prevalent, crucial, and practically significant in countries like China, featuring diverse
agents including motorized vehicles (MVs), non-motorized vehicles (NMVs), and pedestrians - and the inherent difficulty in robustly learning high-dimensional joint distributions for such high-density scenes, often leading to mode collapse and long-term simulation instability. We introduce City Crossings
Dataset (CiCross), a large-scale
dataset collected from a real-world urban intersection, uniquely capturing dense, heterogeneous multi-
agent interactions, particularly with a substantial proportion of MVs, NMVs and pedestrians. Based on this
dataset, we propose IntersectioNDE (Intersection Naturalistic Driving Environment), a data-driven simulator tailored for complex urban intersection scenarios. Its core component is the Interaction Decoupling Strategy (IDS), a training paradigm that learns compositional dynamics from
agent subsets, enabling the marginal-to-joint simulation. Integrated into a scene-aware
Transformer network with specialized training techniques, IDS significantly enhances simulation robustness and long-term stability for modeling heterogeneous interactions. Experiments on CiCross show that IntersectioNDE outperforms baseline methods in simulation fidelity, stability, and its ability to replicate complex, distribution-level urban traffic dynamics.
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All authors Enli Lin, Ziyuan Yang, Qiujing Lu, Jianming Hu, Shuo Feng
Systems and Control
A Physics-Informed Reinforcement Learning Approach for Degradation-Aware Long-Term Charging Optimization in Batteries
Shanthan Kumar Padisala, Bharatkumar Hegde, Ibrahim Haskara et al. (+1 more)
Batteries degrade with usage and continuous cycling. This aging is typically reflected through the resistance growth and the capacity fade of battery
cells. Over the years, various charging methods have been presented in the literature that proposed current profiles in order to enable optimal, fast, and/or health-conscious charging. However, very few works have attempted to make the ubiquitous Constant Current Constant Voltage (CCCV) charging protocol adaptive to the changing battery health as it cycles. This work aims to address this gap and proposes a framework that optimizes the constant current part of the CCCV protocol adapting to long-term battery degradation. Specifically, a physics-informed Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach has been used that not only estimates a key battery degradation mechanism, namely, Loss of Active Material (LAM), but also adjusts the current magnitude of CCCV as a result of this particular degradation. The proposed framework has been implemented by combining PyBamm, an open-source battery modeling tool, and Stable-baselines where the RL
agent was trained using a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) network. Simulation results show the potential of the proposed framework for enhancing the widely used CCCV protocol by
embedding physics information in RL
algorithm. A comparative study of this proposed
agent has also been discussed with 2 other charging protocols generated by a non-physics-based RL
agent and a constant CCCV for all the cycles.
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All authors Shanthan Kumar Padisala, Bharatkumar Hegde, Ibrahim Haskara, Satadru Dey
Signal Processing
Toward Efficient and Privacy-Aware eHealth Systems: An Integrated Sensing, Computing, and Semantic Communication Approach
Yinchao Yang, Yahao Ding, Zhaohui Yang et al. (+4 more)
Real-time and contactless monitoring of vital signs, such as respiration and heartbeat, alongside reliable communication, is essential for modern healthcare systems, especially in remote and
privacy-sensitive environments. Traditional wireless communication and sensing networks fall short in meeting all the stringent demands of eHealth, including accurate sensing, high data efficiency, and
privacy preservation. To overcome the challenges, we propose a novel integrated sensing, computing, and semantic communication (ISCSC) framework. In the proposed system, a service
robot utilises radar to detect patient positions and monitor their vital signs, while sending updates to the medical devices. Instead of transmitting raw physiological information, the
robot computes and communicates semantically extracted health features to medical devices. This semantic processing improves data throughput and preserves the clinical relevance of the messages, while enhancing data
privacy by avoiding the transmission of sensitive data. Leveraging the estimated patient locations, the
robot employs an interacting multiple model (IMM) filter to actively track patient motion, thereby enabling robust beam steering for continuous and reliable monitoring. We then propose a joint optimisation of the beamforming
matrices and the semantic extraction ratio, subject to computing capability and power budget constraints, with the objective of maximising both the semantic secrecy rate and sensing accuracy. Simulation results validate that the ISCSC framework achieves superior sensing accuracy, improved semantic transmission efficiency, and enhanced
privacy preservation compared to conventional joint sensing and communication methods.
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All authors Yinchao Yang, Yahao Ding, Zhaohui Yang, Chongwen Huang, Zhaoyang Zhang, Dusit Niyato, Mohammad Shikh-Bahaei
Audio and Speech Processing · Cross-listed from cs.SD
Automatic Music Sample Identification with Multi-Track Contrastive Learning
Alain Riou, Joan Serrà and Yuki Mitsufuji
Sampling, the technique of reusing pieces of existing audio tracks to create new music content, is a very common practice in modern music production. In this paper, we tackle the challenging task of automatic sample identification, that is, detecting such sampled content and retrieving the material from which it originates. To do so, we adopt a self-supervised learning approach that leverages a multi-track
dataset to create positive pairs of artificial mixes, and design a novel contrastive learning objective. We show that such method significantly outperforms previous state-of-the-art baselines, that is robust to various genres, and that scales well when increasing the number of noise songs in the reference database. In addition, we extensively analyze the contribution of the different components of our training pipeline and highlight, in particular, the need for high-quality separated stems for this task.
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Systems and Control · Cross-listed from cs.RO
Constraint-Aware Reinforcement Learning via Adaptive Action Scaling
Murad Dawood, Usama Ahmed Siddiquie, Shahram Khorshidi et al. (+1 more)
Safe reinforcement learning (RL) seeks to mitigate unsafe behaviors that arise from exploration during training by reducing constraint violations while maintaining task performance. Existing approaches typically rely on a single policy to jointly optimize reward and safety, which can cause instability due to conflicting objectives, or they use external safety filters that override actions and require prior system knowledge. In this paper, we propose a modular cost-aware regulator that scales the
agent's actions based on predicted constraint violations, preserving exploration through smooth action modulation rather than overriding the policy. The regulator is trained to minimize constraint violations while avoiding degenerate suppression of actions. Our approach integrates seamlessly with off-policy RL methods such as SAC and TD3, and achieves state-of-the-art return-to-cost ratios on Safety Gym locomotion tasks with sparse costs, reducing constraint violations by up to 126 times while increasing returns by over an order of magnitude compared to prior methods.
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All authors Murad Dawood, Usama Ahmed Siddiquie, Shahram Khorshidi, Maren Bennewitz
Systems and Control
The Role of Flexible Connection in Accelerating Load Interconnection in Distribution Networks
Nan Gu, Ge Chen and Junjie Qin
This paper investigates the role of flexible connection in accelerating the interconnection of large loads amid rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification. Flexible connection allows new loads to defer or curtail consumption during rare, grid-constrained periods, enabling faster access without major infrastructure upgrades. To quantify how flexible connection unlocks load hosting capacity, we formulate a flexibility-aware hosting capacity analysis problem that explicitly limits the number of utility-controlled interventions per year, ensuring infrequent disruption. Efficient solution methods are developed for this nonconvex problem and applied to real load data and test feeders. Empirical results reveal that modest flexibility, i.e., few interventions with small curtailments or delays, can unlock substantial hosting capacity. Theoretical analysis further explains and generalizes these findings, highlighting the broad potential of flexible connection.
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Signal Processing
Control Requirements for Robust Beamforming in Multi-Satellite Systems
Diego Tuzi, Thomas Delamotte and Andreas Knopp
This work investigates the impact of position and attitude perturbations on the beamforming performance of multi-satellite systems. The system under analysis is a formation of small satellites equipped with direct radiating arrays that synthesise a large virtual
antenna aperture. The results show that performance is highly sensitive to the considered perturbations. However, by incorporating position and attitude information into the beamforming process, nominal performance can be effectively restored. These findings support the development of control-aware beamforming strategies that tightly integrate the attitude and orbit control system with signal processing to enable robust beamforming and autonomous coordination.
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Signal Processing
Thermal Analysis of 3D GPU-Memory Architectures with Boron Nitride Interposer
Eric Han Wang, Weijia Yan and Ruihong Huang
As artificial intelligence (AI) chips become more powerful, the thermal management capabilities of conventional silicon (Si) substrates become insufficient for 3D-stacked designs. This work integrates electrically insulative and thermally conductive hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) interposers into AI chips for effective thermal management. Using COMSOL Multiphysics, the effects of High-Bandwidth
Memory (HBM) distributions and thermal interface material configurations on heat dissipation and hotspot mitigation were studied. A 20 {\deg}C reduction in hot spots was achieved using h-BN interposers compared to Si interposers. Such an improvement could reduce AI chips' power leakage by 22% and significantly enhance their thermal performance.
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Audio and Speech Processing
ILD-VIT: A Unified Vision Transformer Architecture for Detection of Interstitial Lung Disease from Respiratory Sounds
Soubhagya Ranjan Hota, Arka Roy and Udit Satija
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a group of restrictive chronic pulmonary diseases that impair oxygen acquisition by causing irreversible changes in the lungs such as fibrosis, scarring of parenchyma, etc. ILD conditions are often diagnosed by various clinical modalities such as spirometry, high-resolution lung imaging techniques, crackling respiratory sounds (RSs), etc. In this letter, we develop a novel
vision transformer (VIT)-based deep learning framework namely, ILD-VIT, to detect the ILD condition using the RS recordings. The proposed framework comprises three major stages: pre-processing, mel spectrogram extraction, and classification using the proposed VIT architecture using the mel spectrogram image patches. Experimental results using the publicly available BRACETS and KAUH databases show that our proposed ILD-VIT achieves an accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 84.86%, 82.67%, and 86.91%, respectively, for subject-independent blind testing. The successful onboard implantation of the proposed framework on a Raspberry-pi-4 microcontroller indicates its potential as a standalone clinical system for ILD screening in a real clinical scenario.
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Systems and Control · Cross-listed from cs.RO
A Faster and More Reliable Middleware for Autonomous Driving Systems
Yuankai He and Weisong Shi
Ensuring safety in high-speed autonomous vehicles requires rapid control loops and tightly bounded delays from perception to actuation. Many open-source autonomy systems rely on ROS 2 middleware; when multiple sensor and control nodes share one compute unit, ROS 2 and its DDS transports add significant (de)serialization, copying, and discovery overheads, shrinking the available time budget. We present Sensor-in-
Memory (SIM), a shared-
memory transport designed for intra-host pipelines in autonomous vehicles. SIM keeps sensor data in native
memory layouts (e.g., cv::Mat, PCL), uses lock-free bounded double buffers that overwrite old data to prioritize freshness, and integrates into ROS 2 nodes with four lines of code. Unlike traditional middleware, SIM operates beside ROS 2 and is optimized for applications where data freshness and minimal latency outweigh guaranteed completeness. SIM provides sequence numbers, a writer heartbeat, and optional checksums to ensure ordering, liveness, and basic integrity. On an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, SIM reduces data-transport latency by up to 98% compared to ROS 2 zero-copy transports such as FastRTPS and Zenoh, lowers mean latency by about 95%, and narrows 95th/99th-percentile tail latencies by around 96%. In tests on a production-ready Level 4 vehicle running Autoware.Universe, SIM increased localization frequency from 7.5 Hz to 9.5 Hz. Applied across all latency-critical modules, SIM cut average perception-to-decision latency from 521.91 ms to 290.26 ms, reducing emergency braking distance at 40 mph (64 km/h) on dry concrete by 13.6 ft (4.14 m).
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Signal Processing · Cross-listed from cs.IT
Repeated-and-Offset QPSK for Low-PAPR DFT-s-OFDM in Satellite Communications
Renaud-Alexandre Pitaval
Motivated by the convergence of terrestrial cellular networks and satellite communications, this article considers an adaptation of offset quadrature phase shift keying (OQPSK), traditionally used with single-carrier waveforms in satellite systems, to discrete
Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (DFT-s-OFDM), as employed in the uplink of terrestrial systems. First, analytical signal-to-interference-plus-noise (SINR) expressions are derived for DFT-s-OFDM with frequency-domain spectral shaping (FDSS) carrying independently distributed pi/2-BPSK or QAM symbols and received with single-tap equalization, as in 5G. Next, a correlation-induced spectral shaping technique, termed repeated-and-offset QPSK (RO-QPSK), is introduced, relying solely on bit-level processing prior to conventional QPSK modulation. Specifically, the input bits are Manchester encoded (repeated and flipped) with an offset between the in-phase and quadrature branches, resulting in order-one OQPSK-like modulation. The induced correlation between consecutive QPSK symbols produces a Hann-shaped transmit spectrum yielding a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) on the order of 2 dB without explicit FDSS. At the receiver, the repetition structure is exploited through post-DFT-despreading symbol combining, and the corresponding end-to-end SINR with this transmitter-receiver pair is derived in closed form. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that RO-QPSK provides performance gains in narrowband and moderately frequency-selective channels, as encountered in satellite communications, while remaining on par with conventional 5G uplink schemes in other scenarios. The combination of RO-QPSK with FDSS is also investigated, enabling further PAPR reduction while maintaining comparable link-level performance.
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Image and Video Processing
GADA: Graph Attention-based Detection Aggregation for Ultrasound Video Classification
Li Chen, Naveen Balaraju, Jochen Kruecker et al. (+2 more)
Medical ultrasound
video analysis is challenging due to variable sequence lengths, subtle spatial cues, and the need for interpretable
video-level assessment. We introduce GADA, a Graph
Attention-based Detection Aggregation framework that reformulates
video classification as a graph
reasoning problem over spatially localized regions of interest. Rather than relying on 3D CNNs or full-frame analysis, GADA detects pathology-relevant regions across frames and represents them as nodes in a spatiotemporal graph, with edges encoding spatial and temporal dependencies. A graph
attention network aggregates these node-level predictions through edge-aware
attention to generate a compact, discriminative
video-level output. Evaluated on a large-scale, multi-center clinical lung ultrasound
dataset, GADA outperforms conventional baselines on two pathology
video classification tasks while providing interpretable region- and frame-level
attention.
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All authors Li Chen, Naveen Balaraju, Jochen Kruecker, Balasundar Raju, Alvin Chen
Systems and Control
Trajectory control of a suspended load with non-stopping flying carriers
Sofia Girardello, Giulia Michieletto, Angelo Cenedese et al. (+2 more)
This work presents the first closed-loop control framework for cooperative payload transportation with non-stopping flying carriers. The proposed method includes a feedback wrench-controller that actively regulates the load's pose by computing the wrench required for tracking its desired pose trajectory. Building upon grasp-
matrix formulation and internal force redundancy, an optimization layer dynamically shapes internal-force parameters to guarantee persistent carrier motion, while not altering the desired load wrench. The desired non-stopping carrier's trajectories are computed using the system's kinematics and desired cable forces. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the method successfully prevents the carriers from stopping, while achieving a successful tracking of the desired load trajectory.
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All authors Sofia Girardello, Giulia Michieletto, Angelo Cenedese, Antonio Franchi, Chiara Gabellieri
Systems and Control
Robust Recovery and Control of Cyber-physical Discrete Event Systems under Actuator Attacks
Samuel Oliveira, Mostafa Tavakkoli Anbarani, Gregory Beal et al. (+4 more)
Critical real-world applications strongly rely on Cyber-physical systems (CPS), but their dependence on communication networks introduces significant security risks, as attackers can exploit vulnerabilities to compromise their integrity and availability. This work explores the topic of cybersecurity in the context of CPS modeled as discrete event systems (DES), focusing on recovery strategies following the detection of cyberattacks. Specifically, we address actuator enablement attacks and propose a method that preserves the system's full valid behavior under normal conditions. Upon detecting an attack, our proposed solution aims to guide the system toward a restricted yet robust behavior, ensuring operational continuity and resilience. Additionally, we introduce a property termed AE-robust recoverability, which characterizes the necessary and sufficient conditions for recovering a system from attacks while preventing further vulnerabilities. Finally, we showcase the proposed solution through a case study based on a manufacturing system.
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All authors Samuel Oliveira, Mostafa Tavakkoli Anbarani, Gregory Beal, Ilya Kovalenko, Marcelo Teixeira, André B. Leal, Rômulo Meira-Góes
Audio and Speech Processing
Dynamically Slimmable Speech Enhancement Network with Metric-Guided Training
Haixin Zhao, Kaixuan Yang and Nilesh Madhu
To further reduce the complexity of lightweight
speech enhancement models, we introduce a gating-based Dynamically Slimmable Network (DSN). The DSN comprises static and dynamic components. For architecture-independent applicability, we introduce distinct dynamic structures targeting the commonly used components, namely, grouped recurrent neural network units, multi-head
attention, convolutional, and fully connected layers. A policy module adaptively governs the use of dynamic parts at a frame-wise resolution according to the input signal quality, controlling computational load. We further propose Metric-Guided Training (MGT) to explicitly guide the policy module in assessing input
speech quality. Experimental results demonstrate that the DSN achieves comparable enhancement performance in instrumental metrics to the state-of-the-art lightweight baseline, while using only 73% of its computational load on average. Evaluations of dynamic component usage ratios indicate that the MGT-DSN can appropriately allocate network resources according to the severity of input signal distortion.
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Systems and Control
Robust Closed-Form Control for MIMO Nonlinear Systems under Generalized Conflicting Time-Varying Hard and Soft Constraints (extended version)
Farhad Mehdifar, Charalampos P. Bechlioulis and Dimos V. Dimarogonas
This paper introduces a novel robust closed-form control law to handle time-varying hard and soft constraints in uncertain high-relative-degree nonlinear
MIMO systems. These constraints represent spatiotemporal specifications in mechanical systems' operational space, with hard constraints ensuring safety-critical requirements and soft constraints encoding performance or task objectives. Initially, all constraints are consolidated into two separate scalar time-varying hard and soft constraint functions, whose positive level sets define feasible regions. A closed-form control law is developed to enforce these constraints using appropriately designed reciprocal barriers and nonlinear transformation functions. When conflicts between hard and soft constraints arise, the control law prioritizes hard constraints by virtually relaxing soft constraints via a dynamic relaxation law. Notably, the proposed control law maintains low complexity, avoiding approximation schemes for system uncertainties. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.
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Systems and Control
Data-Driven Estimation of Quadrotor Motor Efficiency via Residual Minimization
Sheng-Wen Cheng and Teng-Hu Cheng
A data-driven framework is proposed for online estimation of quadrotor motor efficiency via residual minimization. The problem is formulated as a constrained nonlinear optimization that minimizes trajectory residuals between measured flight data and predictions generated by a quadrotor dynamics model. A sliding-window strategy enables online estimation, and the optimization is efficiently solved using an iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) scheme combined with a primal-dual interior-point method, with inequality constraints enforced through a logarithmic barrier function. Robust z-score weighting is employed to reject outliers, which is particularly effective in motor clipping scenarios where the proposed
estimator exhibits smaller spikes than an EKF baseline. Compared to traditional filter-based approaches, the batch-mode formulation allows selective inclusion of data segments via IRLS reweighting and hard-rejection. This structure is well-suited for online estimation and supports applications such as fault detection and isolation (FDI), health monitoring, and predictive maintenance in aerial robotic systems. Simulation results under various degradation scenarios demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed
estimator.
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Systems and Control
Optimization of High-Order Quarter-Wave Plate for Residual Birefringence Suppression in FOCS
Yuechen Liu and Boqi Meng
Fiber optic current sensors (FOCS) are widely adopted in modern power grids due to high sensitivity, excellent insulation, and strong immunity to electromagnetic interference. This prominence necessitates precise investigation into their error sources and corresponding optimization. This study examines reflective FOCS based on the Faraday effect. A theoretical model is established to simulate phase error caused by linear birefringence from the quarter-wave plate. Conventional methods using circular birefringence are analyzed, revealing inherent limitations. Innovatively, a compensation strategy employing high-order quarter-wave plates is proposed to effectively eliminate linear birefringence effects. This approach significantly enhances the accuracy and practicality of FOCS in precision metrology.
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Signal Processing
Uncertainty Propagation in Finite Impulse Response Filters: Evaluating the Gaussian Assumption
Jennie Couchman and Phillip Stanley-Marbell
A common assumption in signal processing is that underlying data numerically conforms to a Gaussian distribution. It is commonly utilized in signal processing to describe unknown additive noise in a system and is often justified by citing the central limit
theorem for sums of random variables, although the central limit
theorem applies only to sums of independent identically distributed random variables. However, many linear operations in signal processing take the form of weighted sums, which transforms the random variables such that their distributions are no longer identical. One such operation is a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. FIR filters are commonly used in signal processing applications as a pre-processing step. FIR output noise is generally assumed to be Gaussian. This article examines the FIR output response in the presence of uniformly distributed quantization noise. We express the FIR output uncertainty in terms of the input quantization uncertainty and filter coefficients. We show that the output uncertainty cannot be assumed to be Gaussian, but depending on the application a Gaussian estimation may still be useful. Then, we show through detailed numerical simulations that the output uncertainty distribution of the filter can be estimated through its most dominant coefficients.
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Signal Processing
CIRSense: Rethinking WiFi Sensing with Channel Impulse Response
Ruiqi Kong and He Chen
WiFi sensing based on channel state information (CSI) collected from commodity WiFi devices has shown great potential across a wide range of applications, including vital sign monitoring and indoor localization. Existing WiFi sensing approaches typically estimate motion information directly from CSI. However, they often overlook the inherent advantages of channel impulse response (CIR), a delay-domain representation that enables more intuitive and principled motion sensing by naturally concentrating motion energy and separating multipath components. Motivated by this, we revisit WiFi sensing and introduce CIRSense, a new framework that enhances the performance and interpretability of WiFi sensing with CIR. CIRSense is built upon a new motion model that characterizes fractional delay effects, a fundamental challenge in CIR-based sensing. This theoretical model underpins technical advances for the three challenges in WiFi sensing: hardware distortion compensation, high-resolution distance estimation, and subcarrier aggregation for extended range sensing. CIRSense, operating with a 160 MHz channel bandwidth, demonstrates versatile sensing capabilities through its dual-mode design, achieving a mean error of approximately 0.25 bpm in respiration monitoring and 0.09 m in distance estimation. Comprehensive evaluations across residential spaces, far-range scenarios, and multi-target settings demonstrate CIRSense's superior performance over state-of-the-art CSI-based baselines. Notably, at a challenging sensing distance of 20 m, CIRSense achieves at least 3x higher average accuracy with more than 4.5x higher computational efficiency.
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