Semantic Communication

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Overview

Semantic communication studies how to represent and transmit information that matters for a receiver’s task, such as recognizing objects, coordinating vehicles, or controlling robots, rather than reproducing a source exactly. Common approaches include learned joint source-channel coding, compact latent or token transmission, task-aware feature selection, and generative reconstruction, often adapted to channel quality and bandwidth. Systems are evaluated on tasks such as image classification, detection, video understanding, and cooperative perception across simulated and real wireless links. A central challenge is balancing task performance and semantic fidelity against rate, latency, computation, privacy, and robustness, while developing meaningful metrics that work across tasks and settings.

Latest papers

CardsList

104 papers11 papers in the last four weeks, down 15% on the four weeks before. 0.1% of all new papers.

  1. Federated Learning for Semantic Communications over Multiple Access Channels

    Oct 27, 2026Yalin E. Sagduyu, Tugba Erpek, Yi ShiSemantic CommunicationWireless Communications

    Nexcepta, Gaithersburg, MD, USA · Virginia Tech, Arlington, VA, USA

  2. Multi-view Semantic-aware Resource Allocation for Edge AI

    Oct 25, 2026Jiawei Luo, Hussein Saleh, Mohamad AssaadWireless Resource AllocationSemantic Communication

    Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes (L2S), CentraleSupélec, Université Paris-Saclay Gif-sur-Yvette, France

  3. Joint Semantic-Channel Coding and Modulation for Generative Image Transmission

    Oct 21, 2026Hao Cao, Jingkai Ying, Yinhuan Huang +2Joint Source-Channel CodingDeep Joint Source-Channel Coding

    Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University · State Key Laboratory of Space Network and Communications

  4. Recursive Code Evolution for Task-Oriented Semantic Communications

    Oct 21, 2026Yan Gong, Zheng Chu, Wei Koong Chai +5Semantic CommunicationLarge Language Model-Guided Optimization

    School of Computing and Engineering, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, United Kingdom · Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China · School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China +3

  5. Towards High Semantic Fidelity: Hyperdimensional Symbolic Messages in Multi-Agent Communication

    Oct 16, 2026Shoucheng Song, Chang Yao, Hao Wu +3Semantic CommunicationMulti-Agent Communication

    School of Computer Science & Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China · Beijing Key Laboratory of Traffic Data Mining and Embodied Intelligence, Beijing, China · Institute of Artificial Intelligence of China Telecom (TeleAI), Beijing, China

  6. Adaptive Role Assignment and Controlled Feature Reconstruction for Federated Image Semantic Communication

    Oct 11, 2026Yuxuan Chen, Jiao Bie, Hang Qi +1Semantic CommunicationFederated Learning

    Guangdong Prov./Zhuhai Key Lab of IRADS, Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, Guangdong, P. R. China

  7. Semantic Edge-Cloud Communication for Real-Time Urban Traffic Digital Twins

    Oct 9, 2026Murat Arda Onsu, Arman Dogru, Poonam Lohan +2Trajectory ReconstructionIntelligent Transportation Systems

    School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. · Nokia Bell Labs, 600 March Road, Kanata, ON K2K 2E6, Canada.

  8. Joint Movement and Compression Ratio Design for Mobile Embodied AI Networks (MEAN)

    Oct 1, 2026Yahao Ding, Jiaxiang Wang, Zhouxiang Zhao +3Wireless CommunicationsWireless Resource Allocation

    King’s College London · Zhejiang University · University of Miami

  9. DuoMind: Enabling Distributed Multi-Robot Coordination with Semantic Communication

    Oct 1, 2026Hanchu Zhou, Dechen Gao, Hang Wang +5Semantic CommunicationMulti-Robot Coordination

    University of California, Davis · Microsoft Research · Analog Devices

  10. Semantic-Aware Joint Source-Channel Optimization for Encoder-Agnostic Digital Video Communication

    Sep 30, 2026Xiangben Zhu, Caili Guo, Yang Yang +2Joint Source-Channel CodingSemantic Communication

    Beijing Key Laboratory of Network System Architecture and Convergence, School of Information and Communication Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China · China Mobile (Suzhou) Software Technology Company Limited, Suzhou 215011, China · Department of Engineering, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, U.K.

  11. End-to-End Optical Semantic Communication over a Nonlinear WDM Fiber Link

    Sep 29, 2026Hussein Jammal, Andrea Bianco, Cristina RottondiDeep Joint Source-Channel CodingSemantic Communication

    Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

  12. Embodied Semantic Communication for Collective Autonomous Agents: A Tutorial on Representation, Wireless Delivery, and Closed-Loop Coordination

    Sep 28, 2026Yizheng Huang, Wensheng Lin, Lixin Li +3Multi-Agent CoordinationSemantic Communication

    School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710129, China · School of Information and Communications Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China · School of Telecommunications Engineering, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China +1

  13. FRESHLATENT: Channel-Aware Latent Adaptation for Resource-Constrained Embodied VLM Perception

    Sep 24, 2026Rajat Bhattacharjya, Minwoo Kim, Arnab Sarkar +5VLM RobustnessRobotic Perception

    University of California, Irvine, USA · Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea · Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

  14. Task-Oriented Semantic Feature Transmission for Multi-Task Satellite Remote Sensing over Low-SNR Channels

    Sep 17, 2026Shuoyuan Sun, Hongyu Wang, Mugen Peng +1Remote Sensing Image UnderstandingSemantic Communication

    State Key Laboratory of Networking and Switching Technology Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications

  15. Semantic CSI Feedback for Beam Selection: When Task-Aware Embeddings from Sparse Pilots Outperform Full-Bandwidth Reconstruction

    Sep 16, 2026Cristian J. Vaca-Rubio, Konstantinos Vandikas, Aneta Vulgarakis FeljanSemantic Communication

    Ericsson Research, Stockholm, Sweden

  16. AeroLat: Channel-Aware Latent Space Semantic Communication for Decentralized UAV Swarms

    Sep 15, 2026Rajdeep Ghosh, Goparaju Venkata Seshachala Sree Vatsava, Sudip MisraSemantic CommunicationWireless Communications

    Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India

  17. Semantic-Aware Neural Video Codec for Error-Resilient Low-Latency Transmission

    Sep 14, 2026Matin Mortaheb, Homa Esfahanizadeh, Jinfeng Du +1Unequal Error ProtectionSemantic Communication

    Nokia Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA

  18. Goal-Oriented Communications for Physical AI: Design and Testbed

    Sep 14, 2026Shutong Chen, Wenkai Zhang, Adnan Aijaz +2Semantic CommunicationWireless Communications

    Department of Engineering, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, U.K. · Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory, Toshiba Europe Ltd., Bristol BS1 4ND, U.K.

  19. Channel-Adaptive Region Adjacency Graph Carriers for Semantic Image Communication

    Sep 13, 2026Karim Abdallah, Maria Slim, Mariette Awad +1Joint Source-Channel CodingSemantic Communication

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

  20. Privacy-Preserving Deep Joint Source-Channel Coding with In-Loop Concept Erasure

    Sep 11, 2026Rami Eid, Maria Slim, Mariette Awad +1Deep Joint Source-Channel CodingPrivacy-Preserving ML

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon

  21. From Semantic to Token Communication: The Next Paradigm for Large-Model-Driven 6G Intelligent Connectivity

    Sep 9, 2026Yu Ma, Zhen Gao, Li Qiao +11Semantic Communication6G Networks

    Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China · Zhongguancun Academy, Beijing 100094, China · Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong +7

  22. Storage-Scalable Progressive Semantic Communication via Knowledge-Base Reuse

    Sep 9, 2026Heng Zhu, Ye Liu, Kun Zhu +1Residual VQSemantic Communication

    College of Computer Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China

  23. FedGenSC: Federated Generative Semantic Communication with Channel-Aware Adaptation

    Sep 8, 2026Rita Abou Fares, Razan Al Kakoun, Maher Nouiehed +1Semantic CommunicationGenerative Adversarial Networks

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon · Department of Industrial Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

  24. Foundation Models for Generalizable Semantic and Goal-Oriented Communication

    Sep 7, 2026Boliang Liu, Wint Yi Poe, Riccardo Trivisonno +1Learned Image CompressionSemantic Communication

    Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany · Huawei Technologies Düsseldorf GmbH, Munich Research Center, Munich, Germany

  25. Cooperative Multi-Task Semantic Communication for Joint Classification and Regression Tasks

    Sep 3, 2026Ahmad Halimi Razlighi, Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman, Maximilian H. V. Tillmann +2Semantic CommunicationMulti-Task Learning

    Department of Communications Engineering, University of Bremen, Germany

  26. Ada-TokenCom: Rate-Adaptive Token Communications via Large-Model-Driven Token Compression and Generation

    Aug 28, 2026Zijun Zhang, Li Qiao, Mahdi Boloursaz Mashhadi +3Token CompressionSemantic Communication

    School of Information and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519088, China · Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR · University of Surrey, Guildford, U.K. +1

  27. GAN-Based Semantic Communication for Image Transmission in IoV

    Aug 28, 2026Ruixing Ren, Shan Chen, Junhui Zhao +1Semantic CommunicationIntelligent Transportation Systems

  28. SafeStep: An Interactive Demonstration of Semantic Communication for Pedestrian Safety Monitoring

    Aug 27, 2026Christian McDowell, Andrea Panebianco, Jeremiah Yang +4Semantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University, Alabama, USA

  29. Knowledge Distillation Driven Semantic NOMA with GAN Refinement for 6G Robotic Vehicle Networks

    Aug 27, 2026Qifei Wang, Zhen Gao, Li Qiao +4Deep Joint Source-Channel CodingSemantic Communication

    School of Information and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China · The Yangtze Delta Region Academy, Beijing Institute of Technology, Jiaxing 314019, China · Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong +1

  30. Token-Oriented Semantic Communication with Pretrained Vision Transformers

    Aug 26, 2026Jiwoong Im, Minwoo Kim, Jaeho Lee +2Learned Image CompressionSemantic Communication

    Department of Electrical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, South Korea