UBCO researchers use artificial intelligence to improve wireless technology

Photo: UBCO

Researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan are working on the next wave of wireless communication they believe will outperform 5G.

Dr. Anas Chaaban in the UBCO Communication Theory Lab has been working on improving wireless communication architecture that will handle increasing data loads while sending and receiving data faster.

Dr. Chaaban says the next generation of wireless will improve reliability and coverage with the help of artificial intelligence.

"The next generation of technology is expected to be a fully integrated system that allows for instantaneous communications between devices, consumers and the surrounding environment," says Chabban.

“One way to meet these stringent requirements is to rethink traditional communication techniques by exploiting recent advances in artificial intelligence. Traditionally, functions such as waveform design, channel estimation, interference mitigation and error detection and correction are developed based on theoretical models and assumptions. This traditional approach is not capable of adapting to new challenges introduced by emerging technologies."

The leap in technology will be made possible by transformer-masked auto-encoders that enhance efficiency and adaptability. The next-generation technology is expected to use AI to make virtual reality a part of everyday communications including cell phone calls.

“AI provides us with the power to develop complex architectures that propel communications technologies forward to cope with the proliferation of advanced technologies such as virtual reality. By collectively tackling these intricacies, the next generation of wireless technology can usher in a new era of adaptive, efficient and secure communication networks,” Chabban says.