The Broadband Communication Research Group (BBCR) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo has achieved remarkable success at the IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) 2024, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from December 8-12, 2024. The group’s innovative research and exceptional talent were recognized with two major awards at one of the IEEE Communications Society’s flagship conferences, which is renowned for fostering advancements in communication technologies.
Best Paper Award
The team’s paper, "Digital Twin-Assisted Robust and Adaptive Resource Slicing in LEO Satellite Networks," received the prestigious Best Paper Award. The paper was authored by Mingcheng He, Shisheng Hu, and Zhixuan Tang, all PhD students; Conghao Zhou, a postdoctoral fellow; Huaqing Wu, a former PhD student; and Dr. Weihua Zhuang. Their work addresses a critical challenge in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks.
With the increasing reliance on LEO satellites for global connectivity, managing the dynamic nature of satellite mobility and fluctuating service demands poses significant challenges. The paper introduces a digital twin-assisted approach to resource slicing, enabling the construction of a virtual replica of the satellite network. This digital twin model enhances the robustness and adaptability of resource allocation by accounting for service demand uncertainties and high mobility conditions in LEO networks.
Four Minute Thesis (4MT) Competition success
Adding to the group’s accolades, PhD student Xinyu Huang, supervised by Dr. Xuemin (Sherman) Shen, secured the Third Prize in the highly competitive IEEE Communications Society Four Minute Thesis (4MT) Competition.
The 4MT competition challenges PhD students to explain their research project to a non-specialist audience in just four minutes. Xinyu impressed judges with his presentation on emerging applications in 6G networks, which demand flexible and intelligent network management. He highlighted key challenges, including data collection costs, user behavior dynamics, and decision-making reliability, and proposed a three-layer AI-native digital twin architecture as a solution to address these issues.
Congratulations to the team and its members on their outstanding achievements and contributions to advancing global communications.
For more information on the BBCR’s research initiatives and ongoing projects, visit Broadband Communication Research Lab.