Special Section Overview
Semantic communication is an emerging paradigm that shifts the focus from traditional bit-level transmission to the exchange of meaningful information, optimizing communication efficiency and intelligence in cloud computing environments. With the rapid growth of AI-driven multimedia applications (voice, image, video), edge computing, and IoT, semantic communication offers novel solutions to challenges such as bandwidth constraints, latency, and energy efficiency by transmitting only semantically relevant data.
This section aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to explore the latest advancements in semantic communication, including theoretical foundations, algorithmic innovations, and real-world applications in cloud computing. We invite original research contributions, position papers, and case studies that address key challenges and opportunities in semantic-aware communication systems, with a special focus on multimedia data processing and transmission.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Topics of Interest
- Semantic information theory
- Knowledge-driven communication models
- Semantic-aware network architectures
- Deep learning for semantic encoding/decoding of multimedia (voice, image, video)
- Reinforcement learning for adaptive semantic communication
- Federated learning in semantic communication
- Resource-efficient semantic transmission for multimedia
- Latency and energy optimization in semantic-aware streaming
- Cross-layer semantic communication for real-time media
- Trustworthy semantic communication for multimedia
- Privacy-preserving semantic data exchange in video/audio analytics
- Adversarial robustness in semantic networks
- Semantic communication for multimedia (voice, image, video)
- AI-driven semantic compression for video streaming
- Context-aware speech and audio transmission
- Intelligent image retrieval and transmission
- Semantic communication in IoT and edge computing
- AI-driven cloud services with semantic understanding
- Semantic-aware 6G and future networks
Important Dates
- Paper Submission: September 30, 2025
- Notification of Acceptance: October 15, 2025
- Camera-Ready: October 30, 2025
- Special Session Date: November 16, 2025 (TBC)
Submission Guidelines
Authors are invited to submit original, unpublished research papers. Submissions should not exceed 8 pages, including tables, figures, and references in IEEE CS format. The template files for LATEX or WORD can be downloaded from the IEEE site https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html. Submission must be made in PDF format only with savable text and embedded fonts.
The review process will be doubly blind, and so a submission should not include any information that may identify the authors of the manuscripts. Technical content of the camera-ready manuscript must be identical to the submitted version except for changes made to address TPC review comments.
For each accepted submission, at least one of the co-authors must have a full conference registration and present the work in person.
Special Section Chairs
- Li Zhou, National University of Defense Technology, China (zhouli2035@nudt.edu.cn)
- Xiaodong Xu, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China (xuxiaodong@bupt.edu.cn)
- Zhaolong Ning, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China (ningzl@cqupt.edu.cn)
- Yong Xiao, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China (yongxiao@hust.edu.cn)
- Nan Li, King's College London, UK (nan.3.li@kcl.ac.uk)
Program Committee
- Haitao Zhao, National University of Defense Technology, China
- Hei Victor Cheng, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Zixin Wang, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
- Jia Guo, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
- Yichi Zhang, National University of Defense Technology, China
Contact Information
For any questions regarding this proposal, please contact:
Email: zhouli2035@nudt.edu.cn
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Nan Li
Associate Professor
College of Electronic Science, National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), China
Goal-Oriented Semantic Communications in the 6G Era
Abstract
Inspired by Shannon's classic information theory, communication systems can be conceptualized across three levels: (i) the technical problem of bit transmission; (ii) the semantic problem of meaning exchange; and (iii) the effectiveness problem of achieving the intended goal. While traditional systems excel at the first level, emerging applications such as Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous systems, and Edge AI demand a shift from human-centric interpretation to goal-driven machine execution. This evolution reveals a critical limitation: conventional systems, optimized for metrics like bit error rate and throughput, remain agnostic to the semantics and task-criticality of transmitted data.
As such, this talk advocates a paradigm shift toward Goal-Oriented Semantic Communication (GOSC) for the 6G era. Rather than aiming to perfectly reconstruct source signals, GOSC treats communication as an intelligent enabler of distributed tasks, prioritizing mission success and resource efficiency. This talk will present potential enabling technologies, such as task-driven and channel-adaptive semantic coding, robust semantic denoising, and context-aware resource allocation. Through real-world use cases in Extended Reality (XR) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), this talk will demonstrate how GOSC enhances both efficiency and reliability, paving the way toward an intelligently connected world.
Biography
Dr. Nan Li is currently an Associate Professor in the College of Electronic Science, at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), China. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Aarhus University, Denmark, in 2023. During his doctoral studies, he was also a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Wireless Communications, University of Oulu, Finland. From 2023 to 2025, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at King's College London, U.K.
His main research interests focus on semantic communications, generative AI, and Edge AI. He serves as a Technical Program Committee (TPC) member for the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC) 2025-2026 and the ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing (SEC) 2024. He was also invited to serve as the Session Chair for the IEEE ICC 2025- SAC MLCN.