Liang Liu     刘亮

Associate Professor
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Office: DE605
Tel: +852 2766 3542     Fax: +852 2362 8439
Email: liang-eie.liu (at) polyu.edu.hk

About

Bio

Dr. Liang LIU received the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2014. He was a postdoctoral fellow at University of Toronto from 2015 to 2017, and a research fellow at NUS from 2017 to 2019. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). His research interests include wireless communications and networking, advanced signal processing and optimization techniques, and Internet-of-Things (IoT).

Dr. Liang LIU is the recipient of the 2021 IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award, the 2017 IEEE Signal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award, the Best Student Paper Award for 2022 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP), and the Best Paper Award for 2011 International Conference on Wireless Communications and Signal Processing (WCSP). He was listed in Highly Cited Researchers, also known as World's Most Influential Scientific Minds, by Clarivate Analytics (Thomson Reuters) in 2018. He is an editor for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, and was a leading guest editor for IEEE Wireless Communications special issue on "Massive Machine-Type Communications for IoT". He is a co-author of the book "Next Generation Multiple Access" published at Wiley-IEEE Press.

Dr. Liang LIU' CV and research profiles can be found at: My CV, ResearcherID, ORCID, Scopus, Google Scholar Citations, ResearchGate Profile


Openings

• I am looking for Ph.D. students for 2025 intake. More information can be found here

• I am looking for postdocs for conducting research on 6G-based sensing. More information can be found here

• I am looking for research assistants (RAs) for building prototypes on Integrated Sensing and Communication in PolyU. More information can be found here


News

[09/2024] I gave a talk at RISTA Cutting-Edge Forum, entitled "A New Perspective on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface: Acting as Passive Anchor for Localization in 6G Era". The recorded video can be watched here. (Sorry that the talk is in Chinese. The slides in English can be found here. Hopefully, a talk in English about the same topic can be recorded in the near future and then I can upload it accordingly.)
[07/2024] I get early tenureship (within 5 years) and is promoted to Associate Professor in 1 July 2024. Cheers.
[05/2024] I serve as the co-chair of International Conference on Wireless Communications and Signal Processing (IC-WCSP) 2024, Wireless Channel, Transmission, and Access Symposium. Welcome to submit your latest results to this symposium. CFP can be found here.
[05/2024] Paper "Multiple access techniques for intelligent and multi-functional 6G: Tutorial, survey, and outlook" has been accepted by the Proceedings of the IEEE (IF: 20.6).
[04/2024] Congratulations to my Ph.D. candidate, Mr. Yiyang Zhang, on his winning of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship. This is the second HKPFS awardee in my research group. Yiyang will start his Ph.D. journey in September 2024.
[04/2024] Congratulations to my Ph.D. candidate, Mr. Tongkai Li, on his winning of the PolyU Presidential PhD Fellowship Scheme. This is the second PPPFS awardee in my research group. Tongkai will start his Ph.D. journey in September 2024.
[03/2024] Our magazine article "Leveraging A Variety of Anchors in Cellular Network for Ubiquitous Sensing" (authors: Liang Liu, Shuowen Zhang, and Shuguang Cui) has been accepted by IEEE Communications Magazine.
[02/2024] Our book "Next Generation Multiple Access" (authors: Yuanwei Liu from Queen Mary, Liang Liu from PolyU, Zhiguo Ding from University of Manchester, and Xuemin Shen from University of Waterloo) has been published by Wiley-IEEE Press. Book URL
[01/2024] Our Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) Young Collaborative Research Grant proposal "Sensing in 6G Cellular Networks" (PC: Dr. Liang Liu from PolyU. Co-PI: Dr. Chenshu Wu from HKU and Dr. Shuowen Zhang and Prof. Jiannong Cao from PolyU) was funded by RGC with a total amount of HKD 4,843,318.
[10/2023] I gave a talk at Industry Track Panels of 2023 IEEE 98th Vehicular Technology Conference, entitled "Integrated Sensing and Communication in the 6G Era".
[03/2023] Congratulations to my visting Ph.D. student, Mr. Runnan Liu, on the acceptance of his first first-authored journal paper at IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications entitled "Detecting abrupt change in channel covariance matrix for MIMO communication".
[10/2022] I gave a talk entitled "6G-Enabled Networked Device-Free Sensing Techniques" at CUHK-Shenzhen. [Video]
[09/2022] Our proposal "Study of Key Communication and Sensing Technologies based on Multi-Mode Meta-Surface" was successfully funded by National Key Technologies R&D Programme of China (Fund amount: CNY 3,000,000; PI: Boya Di in Peking University; Co-PIs: Fenghan Lin in ShanghaiTech University and Liang Liu in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University).
[09/2022] I gave a talk entitled "Networked device-free sensing for 6G" at Huawei-HKUST Joint Workshop on Theory for Future Wireless. [Slides] [Video]
[08/2022] Congratulations to my first Ph.D. student, Mr. Qipeng Wang, on the acceptance of his first first-authored journal paper at IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications entitled "Exploiting temporal side information in massive IoT connectivity".
[07/2022] My General Research Fund (GRF) proposal "Empowering Smart Signal Reflection in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted Wireless Networks: A Channel Estimation Framework" was funded by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, China. Cheers.
[07/2022] I became the Tutorial and Best Reading Officer of IEEE ComSoc Emerging Technologies Initiatives (ETI) on Next Generation Multiple Access (NGMA).
[05/2022] Our paper "Efficiently and globally solving joint beamforming and compression problem in the cooperative cellular network via Lagrangian duality" won the Best Student Paper Award at 2022 IEEE ICASSP. Cheers. [Photo at ceromony]
[04/2022] Congratulations to my Ph.D. candidate, Mr. Xianzhen Guo, on his winning of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship. Xianzhen will join my research group in September 2022.
[01/2022] Congratulations to my second Ph.D. student, Mr. Qin Shi, who joined my research group in January 2021 after obtaining his bachelor degree from Beijing Institute of Technology, on the acceptance of his first first-authored journal paper at IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC) entitled "Device-free sensing in OFDM cellular network".
[12/2021] I won the 2021 IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award for the paper "Massive connectivity with massive MIMO-Part I: Device activity detection and channel estimation".
[12/2021] I started to serve as an editor of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications.
[07/2021] My first IEEE Transactions on Information Theory paper entitled "Uplink-downlink duality between multiple-access and broadcast channels with compressing relays" was accepted. Cheers.
[06/2021] We gave a 3-hour tutorial entitled "Recent Techniques for Massive Grant-free Access for Future IoT" at 2021 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC).
[05/2021] Congratulations to my first Ph.D. student, Mr. Qipeng Wang, who joined my research group in September 2020 after obtaining his bachelor degree from Harbin Institute of Technology, on the acceptance of his first-authored 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT) paper. A very good achievement for a junior Ph.D. student who just started his research life about half a year ago.
[04/2021] Our paper "Channel estimation for intelligent reflecting surface assisted multiuser communications: framework, algorithms, and analysis", which was published at IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications in October, 2020, was listed as an ESI hot paper (top 0.1% by citations for field and age). This is a joint work with my former postdoc, Dr. Zhaorui Wang, at PolyU and my collaborator, Prof. Shuguang Cui, at CUHK@SZ. More information can be found at here.
[12/2020] We gave a 3-hour tutorial entitled "Massive Machine-Type Communications for IoT: Recent Progress and Future Directions" at 2020 IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom).
[11/2020] We organized a Special Issue on "Massive Machine-Type Communications for IoT" at IEEE Wireless Communications (IF: 11.391). More information can be found at here.
[07/2020] My Early Career Scheme (ECS) proposal "Towards Massive Connectivity in Next-Generation Wireless Networks" was funded by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, China. Cheers.
[07/2020] I became the founding member of IEEE Wireless Communications Technical Committee (WTC) Special Interest Group (SIG) on Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC).
[05/2019] I joined the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as an assistant professor. A new journey began!
[09/2018] I was listed as a 2018 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics (Thomson Reuters).
[09/2018] Our magazine article "Sparse signal processing for grant-free massive connectivity: A future paradigm for random access protocols in the Internet of Things" was published in IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, special issue on Signal Processing and the Internet of Things.
[12/2017] I won 2017 IEEE Signal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award, for the paper coauthored with Jie Xu and Rui Zhang, for "Multiuser MISO beamforming for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 62, no. 18, pp. 4798-4810, Aug. 2014. Cheers.
[11/2017] An invited book chapter, entitled "Transmit beamforming for simultaneous wireless information and energy transfer", was published. (Book URL)
[05/2017] I gave an invited talk entitled "Massive Connectivity Meets Massive MIMO" at University of Science and Technology of China.
[03/2017] I gave an invited talk entitled "Massive Connectivity Meets Massive MIMO" at Tsinghua University.
[03/2017] An invited book chapter, entitled "Fronthaul-aware design for cloud radio-access networks", was published. (Book URL)
[07/2015] I attended my Ph.D Commencement Ceremony at NUS. Cheers.
[09/2014] I gave an invited talk entitled "Joint power control and fronthaul rate allocation for throughput maximization in broadband cloud radio access network" at ShanghaiTech University.

Research

Research Projects


* Start-Up Fund of PolyU, PI, HKD 300,000, "Machine-Type Communications for Future Internet of Things and Industry 4.0," 2019-2022.

* RGC Early Career Scheme (ECS) (25215020), PI, HKD 776,432, "Towards Massive Connectivity in Next-Generation Wireless Networks," 2021-2023.

* RGC Direct Allocation Grant - Funding Support to Small Projects, PI, HKD 200,000, "Leveraging Large-Scale Antenna Array for Industrial IoT," 2021-2023.

* Shenzhen Virtual University Park Management Center, 自由探索类基础研究项目, PI, CNY 200,000, "B5G Technologies for UAV Applications," 2021-2023.

* RGC General Research Fund (GRF) (15203222), PI, HKD 1,025,962, "Empowering Smart Signal Reflection in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted Wireless Networks: A Channel Estimation Framework," 2023-2025.

* RGC General Research Fund (GRF) (15213322), Co-I (PI: Prof. Chen Changwen in PolyU), HKD 1,086,185, "Investigating Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Empowered Wireless Networking for Internet-of-Video-Things," 2023-2025.

* Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (MOST), National Key Technologies R&D Programme, Young Scientist Scheme (科技部国家重点研发计划青年科学家项目), Co-PI (PC: Dr. Boya Di in Peking University), CNY 3,000,000, "Study of Key Communication and Sensing Technologies based on Multi-Mode Meta-Surface," 2022-2025.

* Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things, PolyU, PI, HKD 1,206,392, "Embedding Sensing Function into Next-Generation Cellular Network," 2022-2024.

* RGC Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) Young Collaborative Research Grant (C5002-23Y), PC (Co-PI: Dr. Wu Chenshu from HKU, Dr. Zhang Shuowen from PolyU, and Prof. Cao Jiannong from PolyU), HKD 4,843,318, "Sensing in 6G Cellular Networks," 2024-2027.


Research Interests


* Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) (Publications)

* Massive Connectivity for Internet-of-Things (IoT) (Publications)

* Intelligent Reflecting Surface Assisted Communications (Publications)

* Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) (Publications)

* Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Communications (Publications)

* Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) (Publications)

* Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) (Publications)

* MIMO (Publications)

Publications

Book


  • Y. Liu, L. Liu, Z. Ding, and X. Shen, Next generation multiple access, Wiley-IEEE Press, Feb. 2024. Book URL

Book Chapters


  • L. Liu, W. Yu, and O. Simone, "Fronthaul-aware design for cloud radio access networks," in the chapter of Key Technologies for 5G Wireless Systems, Cambridge University Press, 2017. (Book URL)
  • L. Liu, J. Xu, and R. Zhang, "Transmit beamforming for simultaneous wireless information and energy transfer," in the chapter of Library in Signal Processing, New York: Academic Press, 2017. (Book URL)

Journal Papers (ArXiv Public Identifier)


• L. Liu, S. Zhang, and S. Cui, "Leveraging a variety of anchors in cellular network for ubiquitous sensing," IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 62, no. 9, pp. 98-104, Sep. 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• W. Zhu, S. Zhang, and L. Liu, "Joint transmission and compression optimization for networked sensing with limited-capacity fronthaul links," submitted to IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• B. Clerckx, et al., "Multiple access techniques for intelligent and multi-functional 6G: Tutorial, survey, and outlook," to appear in Proc. IEEE, 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• S. Yue, S. Zeng, L. Liu, Y. C. Eldar, and B. Di, "Hybrid Near-Far Field Channel Estimation for holographic MIMO communications," to appear in IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Shi and L. Liu, "Joint LOS identification and data association for 6G-enabled networked device-free sensing," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 72, no. 8, pp. 5117-5129, Aug. 2024. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• X. Zhang, H. Zhang, L. Liu, Z. Han, H. V. Poor, and B. Di, "Target detection and positioning aided by reconfigurable surfaces: reflective or holographic?" to appear in IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., 2024.

• Z. Wang, Y-F. Liu, Z. Wang, L. Liu, H. Pan, and S. Cui, "Device activity detection in mMTC with low-resolution ADCs: A new protocol," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 5847-5862, June 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, B. Di, and C. M. Lau, "A heterogeneous 6G networked sensing architecture with active and passive anchors," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 9502-9517, Aug. 2024. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• Z. Ren, Y. Peng, X. Song, Y. Fang, L. Qiu, L. Liu, D. W. K. Ng, and J. Xu, "Fundamental CRB-rate tradeoff in multi-antenna ISAC systems with information multicasting and multi-target sensing," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 3870-3885, Apr. 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• R. Liu, L. Liu, D. He, W. Zhang, and E. G. Larsson, "Detecting abrupt change in channel covariance matrix for MIMO communication," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 22, no. 11, pp. 7834-7847, Nov. 2023. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• S. Yue, S. Zeng, H. Zhang, F. Lin, L. Liu, and B. Di, "Intelligent omni-surfaces aided wireless communications: Does the reciprocity hold?," IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 72, no. 6, pp. 8181-8185, June 2023. (Available: arXiv)

• Z. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and S. Cui, "Massive MIMO communication with intelligent reflecting surface," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 2566-2582, Apr. 2023. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and C. M. Lau, "Exploiting temporal side information in massive IoT connectivity," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 1432-1447, Feb. 2023. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• Q. Shi, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and S. Cui, "Device-free sensing in OFDM cellular network," IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun., vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 1838-1853, Jun. 2022. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• L. Liu, Y-F. Liu, P. Patil, and W. Yu, "Uplink-downlink duality between multiple-access and broadcast channels with compressing relays," IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, vol. 67, no. 11, pp. 7304-7337, Nov. 2021. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• Y. Han, L. Liu, L. Duan, and R. Zhang, "Towards reliable UAV swarm communication in D2D-enhanced cellular network," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 1567-1581, Mar. 2021. (Available: arXiv)

• Z. Wang, L. Liu, and S. Cui, "Channel estimation for intelligent reflecting surface assisted multiuser communications: Framework, algorithms, and analysis," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 6607-6620, Oct. 2020. ESI Hot Paper and ESI Highly Cited Paper (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• Z. Wang, L. Liu, H. Li, and S. Cui, "Intelligent reflecting surface design for 6G-assisted Internet of Things," Chinese Journal on Internet of Things, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 84-95, Jun. 2020.

• L. Liu, S. Zhang, and R. Zhang, "Multi-beam UAV communication in cellular uplink: Cooperative interference cancellation and sum-rate maximization," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 18, no. 10, pp. 4679-4691, Oct. 2019. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, S. Zhang, and R. Zhang, "CoMP in the sky: UAV placement and movement optimization for multi-user communications," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 67, no. 8, pp. 5645-5658, Aug. 2019. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Wu, L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Fundamental trade-offs in communication and trajectory design for UAV-enabled wireless network," IEEE Wireless Commun., vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 36-44, Feb. 2019. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 7 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2019 in IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, E. G. Larsson, W. Yu, P. Popovski, C. Stefanovic, and E. de Carvalho, "Sparse signal processing for grant-free massive connectivity: A future paradigm for random access protocols in the Internet of Things," IEEE Signal Process. Mag., vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 88-99, Sep. 2018. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 7 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2018 in IEEE Signal Processing Magazine (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "A D2D-based protocol for ultra-reliable wireless communications for industrial automation," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 5045-5058, Aug. 2018. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "Massive connectivity with massive MIMO-Part II: Achievable rate characterization," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 66, no. 11, pp. 2947-2959, Jun. 2018. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "Massive connectivity with massive MIMO-Part I: Device activity detection and channel estimation," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 66, no. 11, pp. 2933-2946, Jun. 2018. 2021 IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award & ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 5 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2018 in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "Cross-layer design for downlink multihop cloud radio access networks with network coding," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 65, no. 7, pp. 1728-1740, Apr. 2017. (Available: arXiv)

• H. Xing, L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Secrecy wireless information and power transfer in fading wiretap channel," IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 180-190, Jan. 2016. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, S. Bi, and R. Zhang, "Joint power control and fronthaul rate allocation for throughput maximization in OFDMA-based cloud radio access network," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 63, no. 11, pp. 4097-4110, Nov. 2015. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Optimized uplink transmission in multi-antenna C-RAN with spatial compression and forward," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 63, no. 19, pp. 5083-5095, Oct. 2015. (Available: arXiv)

• S. Lee, L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Collaborative wireless energy and information transfer in interference channel," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 545-557, Jan. 2015. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Multi-antenna wireless powered communication with energy beamforming," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 62, no. 12, pp. 4349-4361, Dec. 2014. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 4 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2014 in IEEE Transactions on Communications (Available: arXiv)

• J. Xu, L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Multiuser MISO beamforming for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 62, no. 18, pp. 4798-4810, Aug. 2014. 2017 IEEE Signal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award & ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 4 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2014 in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Shi, L. Liu, W. Xu, and R. Zhang, "Joint transmit beamforming and receive power splitting for MISO SWIPT systems," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 3269-3280, Jun. 2014. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 7 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2014 in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Secrecy wireless information and power transfer with MISO beamforming," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 62, no. 7, pp. 1850-1863, Apr. 2014. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 2 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2014 in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Wireless information and power transfer: a dynamic power splitting approach," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 61, no. 9, pp. 3990-4001, Sep. 2013. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 5 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2013 in IEEE Transactions on Communications (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Wireless information transfer with opportunistic energy harvesting," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 288-300, Jan. 2013. ESI Highly Cited Paper & The No. 5 most cited paper among all the papers published after 2013 in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Achieving global optimality for weighted sum-rate maximization in the K-user Gaussian interference channel with multiple antennas," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 1933-1945, May 2012. (Available: arXiv)

Letters


• Y. Zhang, Z. Yang, S. Yue, L. Liu, and B. Di, "Hybrid near-field and far-field XL-MIMO: How many users can be supported?," to appear in IEEE Commun. Lett.

• R. Liu, L. Liu, Y. Xu, D. He, W. Zhang, and C. W. Chen, "Detecting abrupt change of channel covariance matrix in IRS-assisted communication," IEEE Wireless Commun. Lett., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 318-322, Feb. 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• Z. Wang, Y-F. Liu, and L. Liu, "Covariance-based joint device activity and delay detection in asynchronous mMTC," IEEE Signal Process. Lett., vol. 29, pp.538-542, 2022.

• H. Xie, J. Xu, Y-F. Liu, L. Liu, and D. W. K. Ng, "User grouping and reflective beamforming for IRS-aided URLLC," IEEE Wireless Commun. Lett., vol. 10, no. 11, pp. 2533-2537, Nov. 2021. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, P. Patil, and W. Yu, "Channel diagonalization for cloud radio access," IEEE Wireless Commun. Lett., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 622-625, Aug. 2018. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu and R. Zhang, "How to diagonalize a MIMO channel with arbitrary transmit covariance?," IEEE Wireless Commun. Lett., vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 352-355, Aug. 2016. (Available: arXiv)

Conference Papers


• W. Zhu, S. Zhang, and L. Liu, "Joint transmission and compression design for 6G networked sensing with limited-capacity backhaul," accepted by Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• Z. Zhao, Z. Wang, S. Zhang, and L. Liu, "Finding defective elements in intelligent reflecting surface via over-the-air measurements," accepted by Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• X. Guo, Q. Shi, L. Liu, and S. Zhang, "User-assisted networked sensing in OFDM cellular network with erroneous anchor position information," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), 2024. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, and S. Zhang, "MUSIC algorithm for IRS-assisted AOA estimation," in Proc. IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC) Fall, 2023. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• R. Wang, Z. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and S. Jin, "A quantize-then-estimate protocol for CSI acquisition in IRS-aided downlink communication," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2023. (Available: arXiv)

• S. Yue, S. Zeng, L. Liu, B. Di, "Channel estimation for holographic communications in hybrid near-far field," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2023.

• X. Zhang, H. Zhang, R. Deng, L. Liu, B. Di, "Multi-target detection for reconfigurable holographic surfaces enabled radar," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2023.

• Q. Shi, L. Liu, and S. Zhang, "Joint data association, NLOS mitigation, and clutter suppression for networked device-free sensing in 6G cellular network," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), 2023. (Available: arXiv)

• X. Zhang, H. Zhang, H. Zhang, L. Liu, and B. Di, "Parameter estimation for reconfigurable holographic surfaces enabled radars," in Proc. International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems (ISWCS), 2022.

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and C. M. Lau, "Trilateration-based device-free sensing: Two base stations and one passive IRS are sufficient," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2022. (Available: arXiv)

• X. Guo, S. Zhang, and L. Liu, "Trajectory optimization of cellular-connected UAV for information collection and transmission," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2022. (Available: arXiv)

• X. Fan, Y-F. Liu, and L. Liu, "Efficiently and globally solving joint beamforming and compression problem in the cooperative cellular network via Lagrangian duality," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), 2022. Best Student Paper Award (Available: arXiv)

• R. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and C. Yu, "A new channel estimation strategy in intelligent reflecting surface assisted networks," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2021. (Available: arXiv)

• R. Liu, L. Liu, D. He, W. Zhang, and E. G. Larsson, "Detection of abrupt change in channel covariance matrix for multi-antenna communication," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), 2021. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and C. M. Lau, "On massive IoT connectivity with temporally-correlated user activity," in Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), 2021. (Available: arXiv) (Code at Github)

• L. Liu and Y.-F. Liu, "An efficient algorithm for device detection and channel estimation in asynchronous IoT systems," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), 2021. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu and S. Zhang, "A two-stage radar sensing approach based on MIMO-OFDM technology," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom) Workshop on Integrated Sensing and Communication, 2020. (Available: arXiv)

• Z. Wang, L. Liu, and S. Cui, "Intelligent reflecting surface assisted massive MIMO communications," in Proc. IEEE International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC), 2020. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Cheng, L. Liu, and S. Cui, "A covariance-based user activity detection and channel estimation approach with novel pilot design," in Proc. IEEE International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC), 2020. (Available: arXiv)

• Z. Wang, L. Liu, and S. Cui, "Channel estimation for intelligent reflecting surface assisted multiuser communications," in Proc. IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), 2020. (Available: arXiv)

• L. Liu, S. Zhang, and R. Zhang, "Exploiting NOMA for multi-beam UAV communication in cellular uplink," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), Shanghai, China, 2019.

• L. Liu, S. Zhang, and R. Zhang, "Cooperative interference cancellation for multi-beam UAV uplink communication: A DoF analysis," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom) Workshops, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, 2018.

• H. Xing, L. Liu, J. Xu, and A. Nallanathan, "Joint task assignment and wireless resource allocation for cooperative mobile-edge computing," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), Kansas, America, 2018.

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "Massive device connectivity with massive MIMO," in Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), Aachen, Germany, 2017.

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "Joint sparse beamforming and network coding for downlink multi-hop cloud radio access networks," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), Washington D.C., America, 2016.

• L. Liu, P. Patil, and W. Yu, "An uplink-downlink duality for cloud radio access network," in Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), Barcelona, Spain, 2016.

• L. Liu and R. Zhang, "Downlink SINR balancing in C-RAN under limited fronthaul capacity," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), Shanghai, China, 2016.

• H. Xing, L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Secrecy wireless information and power transfer in fading wiretap channel," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), Sydney, Australia, 2014.

• J. Xu, L. Liu, and R. Zhang, "Multiuser MISO beamforming for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2013.

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Secrecy wireless information and power transfer with MISO beamforming," in Proc. IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), Atlanta, America, 2013.

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "Wireless information transfer with opportunistic energy harvesting," in Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), Cambridge, MA, America, 2012.

• L. Liu, R. Zhang, and K. C. Chua, "A new approach to weighted sum-rate maximization for the K-user Gaussian interference channel," in Proc. International Conference on Wireless Communications and Signal Processing (WCSP), Nanjing, China, 2011. Best Paper Award




Public Software Packages

We will share the codes for the new algorithms investigated in our research group on Github. Interested readers may find the codes below.


1. Code for Standard AMP: MMV-AMP for massive connectivity with massive MIMO

• L. Liu and W. Yu, "Massive connectivity with massive MIMO-Part I: Device activity detection and channel estimation," IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 66, no. 11, pp. 2933-2946, Jun. 2018. (Available: arXiv)


2. Code for SI-aided AMP: MMV-AMP for massive connectivity with temporal side information

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and C. M. Lau, "Exploiting temporal side information in massive IoT connectivity," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 1432-1447, Feb. 2023. (Available: arXiv)


3. Code for CSI Acquisition in IRS-Assisted Communication: Exploiting special channel properties for low-overhead IRS-assisted communication

• Z. Wang, L. Liu, and S. Cui, "Channel estimation for intelligent reflecting surface assisted multiuser communications: framework, algorithms, and analysis," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 6607-6620, Oct. 2020. (Available: arXiv)


4. Code for Uplink-Downlink Duality: Power minimization in cooperative network with compressing relays

• L. Liu, Y-F. Liu, P. Patil, and W. Yu, "Uplink-downlink duality between multiple-access and broadcast channels with compressing relays," IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, vol. 67, no. 11, pp. 7304-7337, Nov. 2021. (Available: arXiv)


5. Code for Change Detection in Wireless Communication: Framework for detecting change in channel covariance matrix

• R. Liu, L. Liu, D. He, W. Zhang, and E. G. Larsson, "Detecting abrupt change in channel covariance matrix for MIMO communication," IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 22, no. 11, pp. 7834-7847, Nov. 2023. (Available: arXiv)


6. Code for Networked Sensing: Data association and NLOS mitigation in networked sensing

• Q. Shi, L. Liu, S. Zhang, and S. Cui, "Device-free sensing in OFDM cellular network," IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun., vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 1838-1853, Jun. 2022. (Available: arXiv)
• Q. Shi and L. Liu, "Joint LOS identification and data association for 6G-enabled networked device-free sensing," to appear in IEEE Trans. Commun.


7. Code for IRS-assisted Sensing: Utilization of IRS as passive anchor for localization

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, S. Zhang, B. Di, and C. M. Lau, "A heterogeneous 6G networked sensing architecture with active and passive anchors," to appear in IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun.. (Available: arXiv)

• Q. Wang, L. Liu, and S. Zhang, "MUSIC algorithm for IRS-assisted AOA estimation," in Proc. IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC) Fall, 2023. (Available: arXiv)




Team

Some photos of group gathering can be found here and here.

Ph.D. Student


• Qipeng Wang
        Ph.D. student since 2020/08
        Degree: B.S., Harbin Institute of Technology
        Research interests: massive IoT connectivity, integrated sensing and communication
        Google Scholar

• Qin Shi
        Ph.D. student since 2021/01
        Degree: B.S., Beijing Institute of Technology
        Research interests: integrated sensing and communication
        Google Scholar

• Rui Wang
        Ph.D. student since 2021/08
        Degree: M.S., Southeast University
                      B.S., University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
        Research interests: intelligent reflecting surface assisted wireless communication
        Google Scholar

• Hongjia Huang (joint programme with SUSTech, co-supervised with Dr. Weijie Yuan)
        Ph.D. student since 2021/08
        Degree: M.S. and B.S., Shenzhen University
        Research interests: integrated sensing and communication

• Xianzhen Guo (Winner of Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme)
        Ph.D. student since 2022/08
        Degree: M.S. and B.S., Northwestern Polytechnical University
        Research interests: integrated sensing and communication
        Google Scholar

• Ziyi Zhao
        Ph.D. student since 2023/08
        Degree: M. S. and B.S., Harbin Institute of Technology
        Research interests: intelligent reflecting surface assisted wireless communication

• Lin Zhu
        Ph.D. student since 2023/08
        Degree: M. S. and B.S., The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
        Research interests: radio map in wireless communication

• Yiyang Zhang (Winner of Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme)
        Ph.D. student since 2024/08
        Degree: M.S. and B.S., Southeast University

• Tongkai Li (Winner of PolyU Presidential PhD Fellowship Scheme)
        Ph.D. student since 2024/08
        Degree: M.S., Imperial College London
                      B.S., South China University of Technology

• Jishan Yan
        Ph.D. student since 2024/08
        Degree: M.S., Beijing Institute of Technology
                      B.S., Xidian University

Postdoctoral Fellow


• Weifeng Zhu Google Scholar
        Postdoc since 2023/10
        Degree: Ph.D., Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Junyuan Gao Google Scholar
        Postdoc since 2024/6
        Degree: Ph.D., Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Xiaoqi Zhang
        Postdoc since 2024/8
        Degree: Ph.D., University of Science and Technology Beijing


Alumni


• Zhaorui Wang Google Scholar
        Postdoc from 2019/09 to 2020/09
        Now Research Assistant Professor in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen [Website]


Current and Past Visiting Scholars and Students


• Runnan Liu Google Scholar
        Visiting Ph.D. student from 2021/05 to 2023/04
        Ph.D. student in Shanghai Jiao Tong University
        Research interests: change detection in wireless communication

• Yue Ju
        Visiting Ph.D. student from 2023/08 to 2024/02
        Ph.D. student in Beijing Institute of Technology
        Research interests: intelligent reflecting surface aided wireless communication


Teaching

• ENG 2003 Information Technology, 2019-2022

• EIE 4113 Wireless and Mobile Systems, 2023-present

• EIE 579 Advanced Telecommunication Systems, 2021-present

• EIE 589 Wireless Data Network, 2022-present

Activities

Editorial Board


[1] Editor, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 2021/12 to present


Guest Editor


[1] IEEE Wireless Communications Special Issue on Massive Machine-Type Communications for IoT


Committee Member


[1] Tutorial and Best Reading Officer, IEEE ComSoc Emerging Technologies Initiatives (ETI) on Next Generation Multiple Access (NGMA), 2022-Present

[2] Founding Member, IEEE WTC Special Interest Group (SIG) on Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), 2020


Symposium Co-Chair


[1] International Conference on Wireless Communications and Signal Processing (IC-WCSP) 2024, Wireless Channel, Transmission, and Access Symposium


Awards