CyberSec Research

Holographic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is envisioned as one of the most promising technology enablers for future sixth-generation (6G) networks. The use of electrically large holographic surface (HoloS) antennas has the potential to significantly boost the spatial multiplexing gain by increasing the number of degrees of freedom (DoF), even in line-of-sight (LoS) channels. In this context, the research community has shown a growing interest in characterizing the fundamental limits of this technology. In this paper, we compare the two analytical methods commonly utilized in the literature for this purpose: the cut-set integral and the self-adjoint operator. We provide a detailed description of both methods and discuss their advantages and limitations.

Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a promising solution to address the growing demand for wireless data, leveraging the widespread use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as transmitters. However, its deployment is challenged by link blockages that cause connectivity outages. Optical reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (ORISs) have recently emerged as a solution to mitigate these disruptions. This work considers a multi-user VLC system and investigates the optimal association of ORISs to LEDs and users to minimize the outage probability while limiting the number of ORISs used. Numerical results from our proposed optimization algorithm demonstrate that using ORISs can reduce the outage probability by up to 85% compared to a no-ORIS scenario.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) during pregnancy is common and can negatively affect fetal outcomes. However, studies on the immediate effects of maternal hypoxia on fetal heart rate (FHR) changes are lacking. Methods: We used time-synchronized polysomnography (PSG) and cardiotocography (CTG) data from two cohorts to analyze the correlation between maternal hypoxia and FHR changes (accelerations or decelerations). Maternal hypoxic event characteristics were analyzed using generalized linear modeling (GLM) to assess their associations with different FHR changes. Results: A total of 118 pregnant women participated. FHR changes were significantly associated with maternal hypoxia, primarily characterized by accelerations. A longer hypoxic duration correlated with more significant FHR accelerations (P < 0.05), while prolonged hypoxia and greater SpO2 drop were linked to FHR decelerations (P < 0.05). Both cohorts showed a transient increase in FHR during maternal hypoxia, which returned to baseline after the event resolved. Conclusion: Maternal hypoxia significantly affects FHR, suggesting that maternal OSAS may contribute to fetal hypoxia. These findings highlight the importance of maternal-fetal interactions and provide insights for future interventions.

We present a hardware-integrated security framework for LiFi networks through device fingerprint extraction within the IEEE 802.15.7 protocol. Our Optic Fingerprint (OFP) model utilizes inherent LED nonlinearities to generate amplitude-based feature vectors in time and frequency domains, specifically designed for optical wireless systems. Experimental results with 39 commercial LEDs demonstrate 90.36% classification accuracy across SNR 10-30 dB while maintaining standard compliance, offering a practical physical-layer authentication solution for visible light communication.

The massive number of antennas in extremely large aperture array (ELAA) systems shifts the propagation regime of signals in internet of things (IoT) communication systems towards near-field spherical wave propagation. We propose a reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)-assisted beamfocusing mechanism, where the design of the two-dimensional beam codebook that contains both the angular and distance domains is challenging. To address this issue, we introduce a novel Transformer-based two-stage beam training algorithm, which includes the coarse and fine search phases. The proposed mechanism provides a fine-grained codebook with enhanced spatial resolution, enabling precise beamfocusing. Specifically, in the first stage, the beam training is performed to estimate the approximate location of the device by using a simple codebook, determining whether it is within the beamfocusing range (BFR) or the none-beamfocusing range (NBFR). In the second stage, by using a more precise codebook, a fine-grained beam search strategy is conducted. Experimental results unveil that the precision of the RIS-assisted beamfocusing is greatly improved. The proposed method achieves beam selection accuracy up to 97% at signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 20 dB, and improves 10% to 50% over the baseline method at different SNRs.

Movable antennas represent an emerging field in telecommunication research and a potential approach to achieving higher data rates in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications when the total number of antennas is limited. Most solutions and analyses to date have been limited to \emph{narrowband} setups. This work complements the prior studies by quantifying the benefit of using movable antennas in \emph{wideband} MIMO communication systems. First, we derive a novel uplink wideband system model that also accounts for distortion from transceiver hardware impairments. We then formulate and solve an optimization task to maximize the average sum rate by adjusting the antenna positions using particle swarm optimization. Finally, the performance with movable antennas is compared with fixed uniform arrays and the derived theoretical upper bound. The numerical study concludes that the data rate improvement from movable antennas over other arrays heavily depends on the level of hardware impairments, the richness of the multi-path environments, and the number of subcarriers. The present study provides vital insights into the most suitable use cases for movable antennas in future wideband systems.

The advancement of advanced air mobility (AAM) in recent years has given rise to the concept of low-altitude economy (LAE). However, the diverse flight activities associated with the emerging LAE applications in urban scenarios confront complex physical environments, which urgently necessitates ubiquitous and reliable communication to guarantee the operation safety of the low-altitude aircraft. As one of promising technologies for the sixth generation (6G) mobile networks, channel knowledge map (CKM) enables the environment-aware communication by constructing a site-specific dataset, thereby providing a priori on-site information for the aircraft to obtain the channel state information (CSI) at arbitrary locations with much reduced online overhead. Diverse base station (BS) deployments in the three-dimensional (3D) urban low-altitude environment require efficient 3D CKM construction to capture spatial channel characteristics with less overhead. Towards this end, this paper proposes a 3D channel gain map (CGM) inference method based on a 3D conditional generative adversarial network (3D-CGAN). Specifically, we first analyze the potential deployment types of BSs in urban low-altitude scenario, and investigate the CGM representation with the corresponding 3D channel gain model. The framework of the proposed 3D-CGAN is then discussed, which is trained by a dataset consisting of existing CGMs. Consequently, the trained 3D-CGAN is capable of inferring the corresponding CGM only based on the BS coordinate without additional measurement. The simulation results demonstrate that the CGMs inferred by the proposed 3D-CGAN outperform those of the benchmark schemes, which can accurately reflect the radio propagation condition in 3D environment.

The Distributed Intelligent Sensing and Communication (DISAC) framework redefines Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) for 6G by leveraging distributed architectures to enhance scalability, adaptability, and resource efficiency. This paper presents key architectural enablers, including advanced data representation, seamless target handover, support for heterogeneous devices, and semantic integration. Two use cases illustrate the transformative potential of DISAC: smart factory shop floors and Vulnerable Road User (VRU) protection at smart intersections. These scenarios demonstrate significant improvements in precision, safety, and operational efficiency compared to traditional ISAC systems. The preliminary DISAC architecture incorporates intelligent data processing, distributed coordination, and emerging technologies such as Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) to meet 6G's stringent requirements. By addressing critical challenges in sensing accuracy, latency, and real-time decision-making, DISAC positions itself as a cornerstone for next-generation wireless networks, advancing innovation in dynamic and complex environments.

In this paper, we demonstrate that an eXtremely Large (XL) Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) wireless system with appropriate analog combining components exhibits the properties of a universal function approximator, similar to a feedforward neural network. By treating the XL MIMO channel coefficients as the random nodes of a hidden layer, and the receiver's analog combiner as a trainable output layer, we cast the end-to-end system to the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) framework, leading to a novel formulation for Over-The-Air (OTA) edge inference without requiring traditional digital processing nor pre-processing at the transmitter. Through theoretical analysis and numerical evaluation, we showcase that XL-MIMO-ELM enables near-instantaneous training and efficient classification, suggesting the paradigm shift of beyond massive MIMO systems as neural networks alongside their profound communications role. Compared to deep learning approaches and conventional ELMs, the proposed framework achieves on par performance with orders of magnitude lower complexity, making it highly attractive for ultra low power wireless devices.

Recent deep learning models for Long-term Time Series Forecasting (LTSF) often emphasize complex, handcrafted designs, while simpler architectures like linear models or MLPs have often outperformed these intricate solutions. In this paper, we revisit and organize the core ideas behind several key techniques, such as redundancy reduction and multi-scale modeling, which are frequently employed in advanced LTSF models. Our goal is to streamline these ideas for more efficient deep learning utilization. To this end, we introduce TimeCapsule, a model built around the principle of high-dimensional information compression that unifies these techniques in a generalized yet simplified framework. Specifically, we model time series as a 3D tensor, incorporating temporal, variate, and level dimensions, and leverage mode production to capture multi-mode dependencies while achieving dimensionality compression. We propose an internal forecast within the compressed representation domain, supported by the Joint-Embedding Predictive Architecture (JEPA), to monitor the learning of predictive representations. Extensive experiments on challenging benchmarks demonstrate the versatility of our method, showing that TimeCapsule can achieve state-of-the-art performance.

Directional scanning sounding (DSS) has become widely adopted for high-frequency channel measurements because it effectively compensates for severe path loss. However, the resolution of existing multipath component (MPC) angle estimation methods is constrained by the DSS angle sampling interval. Therefore, this communication proposes a high-resolution MPC angle estimation method based on power-angle-delay profile (PADP) for DSS. By exploiting the mapping relationship between the power difference of adjacent angles in the PADP and MPC offset angle, the resolution of MPC angle estimation is refined, significantly enhancing the accuracy of MPC angle and amplitude estimation without increasing measurement complexity. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method reduces the mean squared estimation errors of angle and amplitude by one order of magnitude compared to traditional omnidirectional synthesis methods. Furthermore, the estimation errors approach the Cram\'er-Rao Lower Bounds (CRLBs) derived for wideband DSS, thereby validating its superior performance in MPC angle and amplitude estimation. Finally, experiments conducted in an indoor scenario at 37.5 GHz validate the excellent performance of the proposed method in practical applications.

Current brain-computer interfaces (BCI) face limitations in signal acquisition. While sub-scalp EEG offers a potential solution, existing devices prioritize chronic seizure monitoring and lack features suited for BCI applications. This work addresses this gap by outlining key specifications for sub-scalp BCI devices, focusing on channel count, sampling rate, power efficiency, and form factor. We present the Set-And-Forget EEG (SAFE) system, a custom-built amplifier and wireless transmitter meeting these criteria. This compact (12x12 mm), six-channel device offers 1024 Hz sampling and Bluetooth Low Energy data transmission. Validation using generated sinusoids and electrocorticography recordings of visual evoked potentials in sheep models demonstrated low noise recording. Future animal studies will assess sub-scalp EEG signal quality for BCI applications. This data lays the groundwork for human trials, ultimately paving the way for chronic, in-home BCIs that empower individuals with physical disabilities.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is pivotal in advancing fifth-generation (5G)-Advanced and sixth-generation systems, capturing substantial research interest. Both the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and leading corporations champion AI's standardization in wireless communication. This piece delves into AI's role in channel state information (CSI) prediction, a sub-use case acknowledged in 5G-Advanced by the 3GPP. We offer an exhaustive survey of AI-driven CSI prediction, highlighting crucial elements like accuracy, generalization, and complexity. Further, we touch on the practical side of model management, encompassing training, monitoring, and data gathering. Moreover, we explore prospects for CSI prediction in future wireless communication systems, entailing integrated design with feedback, multitasking synergy, and predictions in rapid scenarios. This article seeks to be a touchstone for subsequent research in this burgeoning domain.

In~\cite{sic-magazine-2025}, the authors show that the square index coefficients (SICs) of the \(N\)-point discrete Fourier transform (DFT) -- that is, the coefficients \(X_{k\sqrt{N}}\) for \(k = 0, 1, \ldots, \sqrt{N} - 1\) -- can be losslessly compressed from \(N\) to \(\sqrt{N}\) points, thereby accelerating the computation of these specific DFT coefficients accordingly. Following up on that, in this article we generalize SICs into what we refer to as rectangular index coefficients (RICs) of the DFT, formalized as $X_{kL}, k=0,1,\cdots,C-1$, in which the integers $C$ and $L$ are generic roots of $N$ such that $N=LC$. We present an algorithm to compress the $N$-point input signal $\mathbf{x}$ into a $C$-point signal $\mathbf{\hat{x}}$ at the expense of $\mathcal{O}(N)$ complex sums and no complex multiplication. We show that a DFT on $\mathbf{\hat{x}}$ is equivalent to a DFT on the RICs of $\mathbf{x}$. In cases where specific frequencies of \(\mathbf{x}\) are of interest -- as in harmonic analysis -- one can conveniently adjust the signal parameters (e.g., frequency resolution) to align the RICs with those frequencies, and use the proposed algorithm to compute them significantly faster. If $N$ is a power of two -- as required by the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm -- then $C$ can be any power of two in the range $[2, N/2]$ and one can use our algorithm along with FFT to compute all RICs in $\mathcal{O}(C\log C)$ time complexity.

As the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas increases drastically with the development towards 6G systems, channel state information (CSI) compression becomes crucial for mitigating feedback overhead. In recent years, learning models such as autoencoders (AE) have been studied for CSI compression, aiming to eliminate model assumptions and reduce compression loss. However, current learning methods are often designed and trained mainly for individual channel scenarios, with limited generalizability across different scenarios, of which the channel characteristics are prominently discrepant. Motivated by this, we propose a novel AE-based learning method named attention-infused autoencoder network (AiANet), which can parallelly and adaptively extract channel-wise and spatial features of CSI with an attention fusion mechanism. In addition, a locally-aware self-attention mechanism is developed to extract both global and local spatial patterns, to better capture the unique CSI features of different scenarios. Moreover, a mixed-training scheme is introduced to enable the proposed AiANet to gain generalizability across indoor and outdoor scenarios. Results show that when trained and tested in the same scenario, AiANet can substantially outperform the existing AE-based methods such as ACRNet, with an improvement of up to 3.42 dB in terms of normalized mean squared error (NMSE). With the mixed-training scheme, AiANet exhibits superior cross-scenario generalizability compared to the benchmark methods which are trained in one scenario and misused in another.

Existing Audio Deepfake Detection (ADD) systems often struggle to generalise effectively due to the significantly degraded audio quality caused by audio codec compression and channel transmission effects in real-world communication scenarios. To address this challenge, we developed a rigorous benchmark to evaluate ADD system performance under such scenarios. We introduced ADD-C, a new test dataset to evaluate the robustness of ADD systems under diverse communication conditions, including different combinations of audio codecs for compression and Packet Loss Rates (PLR). Benchmarking on three baseline ADD models with the ADD-C dataset demonstrated a significant decline in robustness under such conditions. A novel data augmentation strategy was proposed to improve the robustness of ADD systems. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed approach increases the performance of ADD systems significantly with the proposed ADD-C dataset. Our benchmark can assist future efforts towards building practical and robustly generalisable ADD systems.

Distributed massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), also known as cell-free massive MIMO, has emerged as a promising technology for sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. This letter introduces an indoor channel measurement campaign designed to explore the behavior of multipath components (MPCs) in distributed massive MIMO channels. Fully coherent channels were measured between eight distributed uniform planar arrays (128 elements in total) and a 12-meter user equipment route. Furthermore, a method is introduced to determine the order (single- or multi-bounce) of MPC interaction by leveraging map information and MPC parameters. In addition, a Kalman filter-based framework is used for identifying the MPC interaction mechanisms (reflection or scattering/diffraction/mixed). Finally, a comprehensive MPC-level characterization is performed based on the measured channels, including the significance of the single-bounce MPCs, the spherical wavefront features, the birth-and-death processes of the MPCs, and the spatial distribution of reflections. The findings serve as a valuable reference for understanding MPC propagation behavior, which is necessary for accurate modeling of indoor distributed massive MIMO channels.

Distributed multiple-input multiple-output (D\mbox{-}MIMO) is a promising technology to realize the promise of massive MIMO gains by fiber-connecting the distributed antenna arrays, thereby overcoming the form factor limitations of co-located MIMO. In this paper, we introduce the concept of mobile D-MIMO (MD-MIMO) network, a further extension of the D-MIMO technology where distributed antenna arrays are connected to the base station with a wireless link allowing all radio network nodes to be mobile. This approach significantly improves deployment flexibility and reduces operating costs, enabling the network to adapt to the highly dynamic nature of next-generation (NextG) networks. We discuss use cases, system design, network architecture, and the key enabling technologies for MD-MIMO. Furthermore, we investigate a case study of MD-MIMO for vehicular networks, presenting detailed performance evaluations for both downlink and uplink. The results show that an MD-MIMO network can provide substantial improvements in network throughput and reliability.