Over-the-air Aggregation-based Federated Learning for Technology Recognition in Multi-RAT Networks

With the continuous evolution of wireless communication and the explosive growth in data traffic, decentralized spectrum sensing has become essential for the optimal utilization of wireless resources. In this direction, we propose an over-the-air aggregation-based Federated Learning (FL) for a technology recognition model that can identify signals from multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs), including Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G New Radio (NR), Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything PC5 (C-V2X PC5), and Intelligent Transport Systems G5 (ITS-G5). In the proposed FL-based technology recognition framework, we consider edge network elements as clients to train local models and a central server to create the global model. In each client, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based model is trained from Inphase and Quadrature (IQ) samples collected from a certain combination of RATs. The possible combination of RATs considered in the clients is selected based on the capabilities of the real-world network elements that can be used as a client. The FL framework involves a process where multiple clients periodically send updates derived from local data to a central server, which then integrates these contributions to enhance a shared global model. This method ensures that the system stays current with the evolving real-world environment while also minimizing bandwidth required for training data transfer and allowing for the maintenance of personalized local models on each client’s end.