Scope and Topics

Conventional wisdom of “the higher the better, and the more the merrier” in communication engineering is no longer sustainable for the sixth generation (6G) wireless systems, due to hardware limitations and escalating networking expenses. In response, semantic communication (SC) has emerged as a novel communication and networking paradigm, capitalizing AI-driven edge devices to maximize task-effectiveness by understanding and manipulating the semantics of transferred bits. By transmitting only the essential meaning that can be mapped into various realizations across different data types, SC is poised to become a crucial enabler to the low-latency communication of multimodal data for mixed reality applications and integrated sensing and communication in 6G. Furthermore, SC can substantially enhance communication reliability, as meanings remain constant despite noise-induced distortion at the bit level. Despite its potential, SC is still in the early stages of development and faces considerable challenges. Current research primarily centers on point-to-point scenarios, leaving large-scale network and computing issues remained unaddressed. Moreover, existing SC frameworks often depend on deep learning architectures that may not algin with standardization efforts, network structures, and legacy devices. Additionally, the "meanings of meanings" remain poorly defined, resulting in a fragmented understanding of SC.

The primary objective of the 2nd workshop on semantic communication for 6G (SC6G) is to cultivate a unified understanding of SC and investigate its communication, sensing, and networking applications in 6G. To this end, SC6G invites research papers on SC and associated theories, algorithms, and demonstrations. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Deep learning based SC frameworks and applications (e.g., DeepSC and DeepJSCC)

• Timing based SC analysis and applications (e.g., age of incorrect information, urgency of information, query age of information, and value of information)

• Knowledge base assisted SC frameworks and applications (e.g., knowledge graphs, structured causal models, probabilistic logic, and GFlowNet)

• Game-theoretic and reinforcement learning based SC frameworks and applications (e.g., signaling games, rational speech act models, coordinative multi-agent reinforcement learning)

• Communication/machine learning principles and mathematical theories for SC (e.g., source-oriented rate-distortion theory, variational information bottleneck principles, and enriched category theory)

• Novel metrics for evaluating semantic information and SC performance (e.g., semantic entropy, causal influence of communication, context independence, and structural intervention distance)

• Semantic MAC protocols and applications (e.g., protocol learning, causal and symbolic protocols)

• SC network architectures and cross-layer designs (e.g., IE-SC, FEI, and HCP)

• AI-native/model-based networking frameworks for SC (e.g., protocol learning and intent-based networking)

• Human/machine-centric and human-machine interactive SC frameworks and applications

• Experimental/simulation designs for SC and use cases

Paper Submission and Publication

Papers should neither have been published elsewhere nor be currently under review at another venue. All papers for workshop must be submitted via the SECON'23 conference submission system. Each submission should follow the SECON'23 paper formatting (https://secon2023.ieee-secon.org/call-papers), and must be no longer than 9 pages, including all the figures, references, and appendices. 2-page poster is also accepted. Submissions that violate the formatting guidelines will be rejected without review. The organizers of IEEE SECON 2023 workshop as well as our attendees expect accepted papers to be presented at the conference. IEEE reserves the right to exclude a paper from distribution after the conference (e.g., removal from IEEE Xplore) if the paper is not presented at the conference.

Submit your papers via EDAS at: https://edas.info/newPaper.php?c=30522&track=117824

Important Dates

• Submission deadline: June 1, 2023 June 12, 2023 (extended)

• Notification of acceptance: June 29, 2023

• Camera Ready: July 15, 2023

• Workshop: 11 September, 2023

Keynote Session (Room: AULA 0.A.02, Session Chair: Prof. Seong-Lyun Kim)

• 09:30-10:15 Keynote 1: Prof. Eleonora Grassucci (Sapienza University of Rome) - Generative Semantic Communication: How Generative Models Enhance Semantic Communications

• 10:15-11:00 Keynote 2: Prof. Mehdi Bennis (University of Oulu) - VisionX: semantic communication meets System2ML

Coffee Break (30min)

Technical Paper Session (Room: AULA 0.A.02, Session Chair: Prof. Seong-Lyun Kim):

• 11:30-11:50 Semantic Communication Protocol: Demystifying Deep Neural Networks via Probabilistic Logic

Sejin Seo (Yonsei University), Jihong Park (Deakin University), Seung-Woo Ko (Inha University), Jinho Choi (Deakin University), Mehdi Bennis (University of Oulu), Seong-Lyun Kim (Yonsei University)

• 11:50-12:10 Semantic Slicing across the Distributed Intelligent 6G Wireless Networks

Lauri Lovén, Hafiz Faheem Shahid, Le Nguyen, Erkki Harjula, Olli Silvén, Susanna Pirttikangas, Miguel Bordallo López (University of Oulu)

Coffee Break (10min)

• 12:20-12:40 Sequential Semantic Generative Communication for Progressive Text-to-Image Generation

Hyelin Nam (Yonsei University), Jihong Park (Deakin University), Jinho Choi (Deakin University), Seong-Lyun Kim (Yonsei University)

• 12:40-13:00 Enabling the Wireless Metaverse via Semantic Multiverse Communication

Jihong Park (Deakin University), Jinho Choi (Deakin University), Seong-Lyun Kim (Yonsei University), Mehdi Bennis (University of Oulu)

General Chairs:

• Jihong Park, Deakin University

• Jinho Choi, Deakin University

• Seong-Lyun Kim, Yonsei University

• Seung-Woo Ko, Inha University

• Zhijin Qin, Tsinghua University

TPC Chair:

• Seung-Chan Lim, Hankyong National University

TPC:

• Christina Chaccour, Virginia Tech

• Xueyan Niu, Theory Lab at Huawei Technologies

• Yuanming Shi, ShanghaiTech University

• Gunagxu Zhu, Shenzhen Research Institute of Big Data

• Sumudu Samarakoon, University of Oulu

• Jemin Lee, SKKU

• Inkyu Kee, Korea University

• Namyoon Lee, Korea University

• Yun Hee Kim, Kyunghee University

• Junil Choi, KAIST

• Yongjune Kim, POSTEC

• Hyowoon Seo, Kwangwoon University

Contact: Jihong Park (jihong.park at deakin.edu.au)

Link to the 1st edition of SC6G in 2022: https://sites.google.com/view/sc6g