Task-Oriented Semantic Communication

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Overview

Task-oriented semantic communication studies how to transmit the parts of a message that matter for a receiver’s goal, such as recognizing an object, answering a video question, or coordinating a robot. Common approaches train task-specific semantic encoders and feature transmitters, use deep joint source-channel coding or token representations, and protect or recover information according to its estimated utility. In dynamic settings, reinforcement learning and value-of-information methods allocate communication resources, while sensing, communication, and control may be designed together for vehicles, robots, or other agents. A central challenge is evaluating meaning consistently across tasks and channels while balancing task accuracy with bandwidth, latency, robustness, safety, and the risk that transmitted representations still reveal sensitive information.

Latest papers

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23 papers2 papers in the last four weeks, down 50% on the four weeks before. 0.0% of all new papers.

  1. Token Communication-Assisted Collaborative Embodied Artificial Intelligence: Concepts, Framework, and Opportunities

    Oct 1, 2026Peng Yi, Ying-Chang LiangAgent Communication ProtocolsTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    National Key Laboratory of Wireless Communications, and also with the Center for Intelligent Networking and Communications (CINC), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 611731, China · Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences and the Center for Intelligent Networking and Communications (CINC), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 611731, China

  2. 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

  3. Adaptive Pilot Selection for Unified Semantic Communication and Semantic Sensing in ISAC

    Sep 25, 2026Muhammad Abubakar Rashid, Muhammad Hannan Akram, Haejoon Jung +1Integrated Sensing and CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan · Department of Electronic Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Republic of Korea

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. Task-Oriented Semantic Communication for Hazard Warning and Remote Operation in Connected Vehicle Platoons

    Sep 5, 2026S M Sabit Bananee, Shahriar Hasan, Muhammad Mahbub Alam +1Task-Oriented Semantic CommunicationIntelligent Transportation Systems

    Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur 1704, Bangladesh · Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Mälardalen University, 721 23 Väster˚as, Sweden · Samsung Research America, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

  7. 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

  8. Rethinking Communication Metrics: How Should We Measure Meaning?

    Aug 21, 2026Niloofar Tavakolian, Hakimeh Purmehdi, Jungyeon BaekSemantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    Ericsson Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada · Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

  9. Memory Is Communication: The Frontier Between Remembering and Signaling

    Aug 17, 2026Yashar Talebirad, Eden Redman, Ali Parsaee +1Agent MemoryMulti-Agent Communication

    Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

  10. When Robots Exchange Meaning: A Demo of Goal-Oriented Semantic Communications for Collaborative Robotics

    Jul 30, 2026Peizheng Li, Xinyi Lin, Sajida Gufran +1Semantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory, Toshiba Europe Ltd., U.K.

  11. Semantic-Aware Task Clustering for Constructive and Cooperative Multi-Tasking

    Jul 23, 2026Ahmad Halimi Razlighi, Maximilian H. V. Tillmann, Edgar Beck +2ClusteringSemantic Communication

    Department of Communications Engineering, University of Bremen, Germany · Communication Systems Group, Paderborn University, 33098 Paderborn, Germany

  12. Goal-Oriented Semantic Communication for Distributed ISAC-Enabled Vehicle Coordination

    Jul 16, 2026Wenjie Liu, Yansha DengMulti-Agent CoordinationIntegrated Sensing and Communication

    Department of Engineering, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, U.K.

  13. Explainable Task-Oriented Token Communication for AI-Native 6G Networks

    Jun 12, 2026Feibo Jiang, Lei Mao, Li Dong +36G NetworksVisual Tokenization

  14. TONIC: Token-Centric Semantic Communication for Task-Oriented Wireless Systems

    May 20, 2026Sige Liu, Kezhi WangUnequal Error ProtectionSemantic Communication

    Department of Computer Science, Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, U.K.

  15. World Model-Enabled Causal Digital Twins for Semantic Communications in Physical AI Systems

    May 15, 2026Lingyi Wang, Tingyu Shui, Walid Saad +1Semantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Alexandria, VA, 22305, USA · Research and Innovation Labs, InterDigital Communications Inc., New York, NY 10120, USA

  16. ChronoSC: Task-Oriented Semantic Communication via Temporal-to-Color Encoding

    May 11, 2026Phuc H. Nguyen, Trung T. Nguyen, Quy N. Duong +1Deep Joint Source-Channel CodingSemantic Communication

    Smart Green Transformation Center (GREEN-X), VinUniversity, Vietnam. · School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

  17. Sema: Semantic Transport for Real-Time Multimodal Agents

    Apr 22, 2026Jiaying Meng, Bojie LiSemantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    Unaffiliated · Pine AI

  18. Semantic Rate-Distortion for Bounded Multi-Agent Communication: Capacity-Derived Semantic Spaces and the Communication Cost of Alignment

    Apr 10, 2026Anthony T. NixonMulti-Agent CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

  19. Safety-aware Goal-oriented Semantic Sensing, Communication, and Control for Robotics

    Mar 13, 2026Wenchao Wu, Shutong Chen, Wenjie Liu +3RoboticsRobot Safety

    Department of Engineering, King’s College London, U.K. · Department of Intelligent Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden · Department of Automation Technology, ABB Corporate Research Sweden, 72226 Västerås, Sweden +1

  20. Goal-Oriented Semantic Communication for ISAC-Enabled Robotic Obstacle Avoidance

    Mar 2, 2026Wenjie Liu, Yansha Deng, Henk WymeerschTask-Oriented Semantic CommunicationIntegrated Sensing and Communication

    Department of Engineering, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, U.K. · Department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.

  21. Federated Latent Space Alignment for Multi-user Semantic Communications

    Feb 19, 2026Giuseppe Di Poce, Mario Edoardo Pandolfo, Emilio Calvanese Strinati +1Semantic CommunicationLatent Space Alignment

    CEA Leti, University Grenoble Alpes, 38000, Grenoble, France. · DIAG Department, Sapienza University of Rome, via Ariosto 25, Rome, Italy. · Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni (CNIT), Parma, Italy. +1

  22. Latency-aware Human-in-the-Loop Reinforcement Learning for Semantic Communications

    Feb 17, 2026Peizheng Li, Xinyi Lin, Adnan AijazSemantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory, Toshiba Europe Ltd., U.K.

  23. Diffusion-aided Task-oriented Semantic Communications with Model Inversion Attack

    Jun 24, 2025Xuesong Wang, Mo Li, Xingyan Shi +2Semantic CommunicationTask-Oriented Semantic Communication

    School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, China