2026· IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking· Vol 12, pp. 10421-10437· 0 citations· 39 references
Abstract
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite edge computing technology, there has been a rapid increase in the demand for intelligence networks and services among users in remote areas, such as federated learning (FL). We propose a satellite aided computation FL (SACFL) system in LEO ubiquitous edge computing (UEC) networks, aiming at improving the efficiency of FL tasks in remote areas. In the considered deployment scenario, the following key factors are considered: 1) terrestrial users in remote areas; 2) offloading data to satellites for aided computation; and 3) global aggregation on satellite. However, the highly dynamic characteristics and the uneven distribution of satellite computation resources pose significant challenges to the low-delay requirements of satellite-based FL tasks. To this end, we formulate an optimization problem to minimize delay by jointly considering access selection, computation offloading, aggregation satellite (AgS) selection, and computation resource allocation. To solve the formulated problem, we propose a novel multi-agent alternating (M2A) optimization method. Specifically, three independent agents are trained alternately to make decisions on access selection, computation offloading, and AgS selection. Comprehensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other benchmark algorithms in terms of convergence, delay, and FL accuracy.
The flexible deployment of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the wide-area coverage of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites make their integration in space–air–ground integrated networks (SAGINs) a promising solution for communication in resource-constrained remote areas. This paper proposes a SAGIN framework supporting mobile edge computing (MEC) with a three-layer architecture, which provides heterogeneous computing resources for ground Internet of Things (IoT) devices and enables users in remote and underdeveloped regions to access computational services. Our objective is to minimize the weighted sum of energy consumption and latency in the SAGIN subject to satellite coverage time constraints and partial task offloading requirements. The optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) challenge that jointly optimizes the UAV’s three-dimensional trajectory, IoT device association, transmit power, and task assignment. The coupled optimization variables form a hybrid action space with both discrete and continuous actions. To address this challenge, a parameterized double deep Q-network (P-DDQN) algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is proposed. The proposed method employs the DDQN algorithm to handle discrete actions and the deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm to generate continuous actions. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms several baseline schemes in terms of system cost, providing an efficient solution for highly coupled hybrid decision optimization problems in SAGINs.
Haosheng Chen, Haixia Cui, Peng Cao et al.· IEEE Transactions on Wireles...· 0 citations
Integrated Terrestrial–Non-Terrestrial Networks (ITNTN), which combine terrestrial base stations (BSs), High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, are key enablers of 6G communication and edge computing (EC) services. However, energy-limited BSs, particularly HAPS and satellites, pose significant sustainability challenges under continuous operation. To address this issue, we propose an on-demand EC server activation framework integrated with intelligent task offloading across ITNTN. A joint optimization problem is formulated to maximize task offloading success while satisfying energy and quality-of-service requirements. To solve it, we propose an online Q-learning policy that adaptively manages task offloading and EC server activation without prior knowledge of traffic dynamics. Simulation results show that the proposed method achieves superior task offloading success and energy efficiency compared to online heuristic and offline metaheuristic baselines. These findings highlight the importance of energyaware On-Off EC control for sustainable ITNTN systems.
Insaf Rzig, W. Jaafar, Safwan Alfattani· International Conference on...· 0 citations
Satellite edge computing (SEC) has emerged as a promising paradigm to enhance in-orbit data processing capabilities and reduce transmission latency. However, satellite image processing tasks in SEC environments face critical challenges in efficient data handling, resource coordination, and transmission scheduling. The dynamic network topology and time-varying resource availability in satellite constellations further degrade the quality and stability of SEC services. To address these challenges, we propose a deep learning-based Collaborative Image Feature-extraction Task Optimization (CIFTO) framework. CIFTO dynamically distributes image processing workloads across multiple Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, enabling continuous temporal updates for task allocation while significantly accelerating convergence and reducing computational overhead. By integrating temporal modeling and iterative optimization, CIFTO effectively mitigates the NP-hard nature of satellite task allocation. Furthermore, a lightweight satellite image processing model is designed to meet the strict constraints of on-orbit computation, achieving efficient image inference with minimal parameters. Extensive experimental evaluations demonstrate that the proposed framework ensures timely task completion, substantially lowers system-wide energy consumption, and enhances the adaptability and training efficiency of SEC services.
Xiaoteng Yang, Jie Feng, Lei Liu et al.· IEEE transactions on compute...· 0 citations
The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) paradigm, with its open interfaces and intelligent functions, is a key enabler for next-generation wireless systems. We investigate the deployment of O-RAN-based network slice functions over Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks with Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) capabilities. To provide energy-efficient and low-latency services through distributed data processing, we formulate a slice function data offloading problem aimed at jointly optimizing end-to-end (E2E) latency and energy consumption. We model the problem as an MDP and propose a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL)-based solution. The proposed DRL agent learns efficient offloading policies by balancing computation and communication costs in the dynamic satellite environment. Simulation results show that our DRL-based approach significantly outperforms conventional benchmarks, achieving enhanced latency and energy performance, enabling intelligent orchestration of O-RAN slices over LEO satellite networks.
S. Shinde, Daniele Tarchi, Carlo Fischione· International Mediterranean...· 0 citations
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, smart libraries increasingly require low-latency and energy-efficient computing support for heterogeneous services such as access control, intelligent recommendation, indoor navigation, and book localization. To address the limitations of cloud-only processing, this paper investigates task-offloading optimization in a cloud-assisted mobile edge computing environment for smart library services. A three-tier cloud–edge–device collaborative architecture is first established, and the task-offloading problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem that jointly minimizes task-completion delay and user-side energy consumption under latency, resource-capacity, and coverage constraints. To solve the dynamic decision-making problem, a preference-adaptive dueling double deep Q-network algorithm, termed PA-DDQN, is proposed by integrating preference conditioning, multi-head attention, a dueling architecture, and double Q-learning. Simulation results show that PA-DDQN achieves better performance than fixed offloading strategies and representative reinforcement-learning baselines. Under the heaviest task load, PA-DDQN reduces the average task-completion delay by 23.1% and 31.0% compared with D3QN and DDQN, respectively, while reducing energy consumption by 5.8% and 9.9%. It also improves the task success rate by 14.8% and 21.7%, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing service responsiveness, energy efficiency, and reliability in smart library MEC systems.
Jingjing Qu, Peiying Zhang, Ruixin Wang et al.· Information· 0 citations
Satellite-airborne-terrestrial edge computing networks (SATECNs) emerge as a global solution for Internet of Things (IoT) since they can provide global coverage even in remote areas and under natural disasters. However, their dynamic and non-stationary nature makes control and resource allocation more challenging. Preserving data freshness is crucial in many IoT applications and requires timely decisions. To address these challenges, we present a knowledge-base software-defined networking architecture for satellite–airborne–terrestrial networks (KB-SAT-SDN) that enables collaboration between SDN controllers to optimize SAT configurations. A shared knowledge base (KB) is built through lifelong learning (LL) to continuously adapt and efficiently manage computing and networking resources to minimize the age of information (AoI) and energy consumption. To further accelerate learning, we exploit the heterogeneity of nodes and offloading decisions by defining different learning domains and designing a cross-domain lifelong learning (CDLL-SATECN) algorithm. With domain-specific projections, knowledge is shared between domains. Numerical results show that CDLL reduces average AoI and energy by up to 70% and converges $8\times $ faster than existing baselines. It achieves the lowest or near-lowest penalty across all RL domains, nearly halving Natural Actor-Critic (NAC)’s penalty in the most complex domains. LEO assistance lowers penalty/AoI from 61.9/49.4 to 48.5/45.1 relative to a domain without LEO, while reducing UAV energy and queues. The sensitivity analysis confirms that CDLL maintains a stable AoI–energy tradeoff over a broad range of weighting parameters.
Yinxuan Wu, Ning Wang, B. Lorenzo et al.· IEEE Transactions on Wireles...· 0 citations