Agenda

Sujit Dey (Professor & Director, CWC- UC San Diego)

Conference Keynote speaker will talk about how wireless communication technologies are evolving to integrate compute, AI, sensing, positioning, digital twin, and satellite to support a variety of edge devices and solutions including Automotive, XR, Gaming, private networks, and Industrial IoT.

Speaker: John Smee (Senior VP of Engineering and Head of Wireless Research, Qualcomm)

As we step into the future of wireless communication, our focus extends beyond the familiar realm of smartphones and 5G technology. This session aims to explore two critical aspects: devices beyond smartphones and technologies beyond 5G.

Speaker: Rob Soni (Vice President, AT&T)
Moderator: John Smee (Senior Vice President, Qualcomm)
Panelists: Carl Nuzman (Bell Labs Fellow, Nokia Bell Labs), Karri Kuoppamaki (Senior Vice President, T-Mobile), Rob Soni (Vice President, AT&T), Mischa Dohler (Vice President, Ericsson)

Moderator: Yongbin Wei ( Vice President, Product Management, Qualcomm)
Panelists: Satoshi Nagata ( Vice Chair 3GPP, Senior Manager NTT, 3GPP & DOCOMO), Gary Xu (Vice President , Samsung Research America), Thomas Cheng ( Principal Researcher,  Ericsson),  Robert Heath ( Professor, UC San Diego),  Tingfang Ji ( Vice President, Engineering,  Qualcomm)

Extended reality (XR), which encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) is a foundational technology that enables the users to bridge the physical and digital experiences. As XR and Gaming technologies continue to evolve, their impact on our daily lives becomes increasingly profound. In this session, experts explore the pivotal role of wireless communication and AI in enabling the next generation of XR and Gaming applications across the following topics: Wireless Connectivity, Distributed Compute Platforms, AI-driven enhancements, Balancing Innovation and Practicality.

Speaker: Djordje Tujkovic ( Director of Engineering, Meta)
Moderator: Sahil Bansal ( Senior Director, Product Management,  Qualcomm) 
Panelists: Terry Schussler ( Senior Director, XR & Spatial Computing,  T-Mobile),  Djordje Tujkovic ( Director of Engineering, Meta),  John-Ross Rizzo ( Professor Edge-based Wearable Assistive Technology, NYU),  Vishal Shah ( General Manager of XR (AR/VR) & Metaverse,  Lenovo)

Fast, efficient, and scalable initial beam alignment algorithms with large antenna arrays are critical for millimeter-wave (mmW) and sub-terahertz (sub-THz) communications. With low-power mobile devices requiring phased-array architectures and phase-less power measurements during the initial connection with a base station, traditional beam alignment methods require exhaustive sweeps of all possible beam directions and scale poorly with large arrays. Compressed sensing methods can better scale overhead with array size, but are unreliable without perfect array calibration. We first discuss our neural-network-based beam-alignment algorithm, mmRAPID, that reduces measurement overhead even with poor factory array calibration. We then introduce a systematic method to optimize fixed compressive measurement beams for beam alignment with phase-less measurements and array mismatch. This “codebook learning” algorithm, based on the compressive sensing concept of dictionary learning, improves heuristic sounding beam designs, especially when paired with mmRAPID.

Speaker: Danijela Čabrić (Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UCLA)

Generative AI is rapidly evolving and poised to transform wireless communications and networks. From data augmentation and synthesis to network automation, resource optimization, channel modeling, and security, generative AI offers many opportunities. In this panel discussion, experts will delve into how these techniques are revolutionizing wireless communication, discussing opportunities and challenges. Join us as we explore the synergy between Generative AI and wireless networks, paving the way for an interconnected future.

Moderator: Andreas Roessler (Technology Manager, Rohde & Schwarz)
Panelists: Tara Javidi ( HDSI Fellow & Professor of Electrical, Computer Engineering and Halicioglu Data Science, UC San Diego), Deepak Vasisht ( Professor in Computer Science, UIUC), Taesang Yoo ( Senior Director, Technology, Qualcomm), RaviKiran Gopalan (Co-Founder, CTO, and AI Systems Lead, Aira Technologies) 

The IMT-2030 framework highlights sustainability, security, and resilience, connecting the unconnected, and ubiquitous intelligence as overarching aspects which act as design principles commonly applicable to all usage scenarios. Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are expected to contribute to “connecting the unconnected”, and “security and resilience” overarching aspects. 3gpp has brought NTN capability into 5G. 6G NTN represents the next frontier in wireless communications, promising revolutionary global connectivity through the integration of satellite constellations, high-altitude platforms, and other space-based technologies with terrestrial networks. The 6G NTN component is envisioned to be fully integrated into the future 6G infrastructure, which will better meet the vertical industry’s needs and consumer market expectations.

Speaker: Nandan Das (CTO of Viasat's Government Fixed/Nomadic and Land Mobile Broadband SATCOM business, GC4)

Digital Twins promises to bring a new data- driven platform approach to all aspects of 6G network operation.  Operators would be able to improve efficiency and resiliency by testing new functions in a digital twin environment before full operationalization.  Data-engineers would be able to use a combination of twin-generated synthetic data and measured data to train AI models. Users will benefit from new services built on a digital twin platform enabled by the convergence of the physical and digital worlds.  In this panel discussion, we will go over the main technology building blocks, upcoming research challenges as well as the value proposition for digital twins in 6G.

Moderator: Sujit Dey ( Professor & Director of CWC, UC San Diego)
Panelists: Rajat Prakash ( Senior Director of Technology, Qualcomm), Rajive Bagrodia ( Chief Technologist, Network Digital Twins, Keysight Technologies),  Tommaso Balercia ( Principal Architect, Nvidia),  John Macias ( Associate Fellow - Systems Architecture, Verizon),  Rajeev Chhajer ( Chief Engineer & Research Domain Leader, Honda)

As computing infrastructure continues to evolve, incorporating distributed AI/ML across public, private, edge cloud, and on-device environments, the role of communications becomes pivotal. In this context, device/edge computing and connectivity play an increasingly significant role. Understanding the trade-offs between hosting AI/ML at the device/edge versus the cloud is crucial. Additionally, the impact of Generative AI and Multi-modal AI on devices must be considered. This session explores the innovations needed to fully support the Intelligent Edge and its implications for next-generation computing and communications.

Speaker: Joseph Soriaga ( Senior Director of Technology, Qualcomm)
Moderator: Xinyu Zhang ( Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego)
Panelists: Chad Sweet ( CEO/Co-founder, ModalAI), Joseph Soriaga ( Senior Director of Technology, Qualomm), Udayan Mukherjee (Intel Senior Fellow, Network & Edge Group)

Applications of AI/ML to RF, Analog, Mixed Signal and SOC ASIC design include modeling for devices and interconnects, automated transistor sizing and layout, and post-silicon performance improvements such as digital predistortion, and tools to improve test time and yield.  Will AI/ML be a fundamental inflection point in wireless ASIC design or will it be seen in hindsight as part of a long trend of incremental improvements in the field.

Moderator: Kamal Sahota ( Senior Vice President of Engineering, Qualcomm)
Panelists: Thomas Andersen ( Vice President, AI and Machine Learning, Synopsys), Naveen Yanduru ( Vice President, Renasas), Mark Pierpoint ( Senior Vice President, Keysight), Ian Galton (Professor, ECE, UC San Diego), Michael Thompson (Cadence)

Al Pisano (Dean, Jacobs School of Engineering)

Wireless connectivity is becoming a must-have in new vehicles. Automakers have started to advertise the cellular and other connectivity as a feature that will particularly improve customers’ in vehicle infotainment experience. Examples of these are streaming audio/video to vehicles and navigation update. Connectivity also provides an unprecedented opportunity for automakers to improve performance and add new features to their already-sold vehicles using over-the-air update. Some examples of these are automakers improving EV charging performance and off road performance. An area of active development is how connectivity can improve safety and autonomy, e.g., V2X for increasing situational awareness, and remote assistance for autonomy. AI is already seeing many applications in auto space with autonomy being the major use case. However, with the rise of generative AI, many infotainment applications are on the horizon. An exciting area of research is how to explore the synergy between AI and connectivity, both for autonomy and non-autonomy use cases. In this panel we discuss this and how the industry needs to ready itself for the upcoming transformation

Speaker: Fan Bai (Technical Fellow and Lab Group Manager, General Motors), Siva Veerepalli ( Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm)
Moderator: Abha Khosla ( Director, Product Management, Qualcomm)
Panelists: Venkatesan Iyer (Xpeng Motors),  Dinesh Bharadia ( Professor, ECE, UC San Diego), Nuria Gonzales-Prelcic (Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego), Fan Bai (Technical Fellow and Lab Group Manager, General Motors), Siva Veerepalli ( Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm)

The convergence of digital, physical and virtual worlds leading to new user experiences and applications is one of the key drivers of 6G. RF Sensing is an important building block in this evolution, where everything in the physical world is sensed, recognized, and digitized before it is mapped to the digital world and acted upon in the virtual world. Integrated Sensing and Communication is laying the foundation for incorporating the new functionality of RF Sensing into data communication networks. In this session, we will address the theoretical and practical aspects of realizing Physical-Digital Convergence and examples of user experiences enabled by such a paradigm.

Speaker: Ashutosh Sabharwal (Chair & Ernest Dell Butcher Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University)

Moderator: Dr. Anirban Bandyopadhyay ( IEEE Fellow, Senior Director, End Market, GlobalFoundries)
Panelists: Dr. PR. ‘Chidi’ Chidambaram ( Vice President of Engineering & Qualcomm Fellow, Qualcomm), Gabriel Rebeiz ( Wireless Communications Industry Chair Professor, UC San Diego),  Dr. Gary Xu ( Vice President, Samsung Research America),  Dr. Julio Costa ( Vice President, RF Technology / Senior Fellow,  GlobalFoundries), Dr. Patrick Martin (Senior Director & Head of Field Technology, SOITEC)

This session on IoT will delve into several critical topics that are key to successful adoption and expansion of IoT.  We will explore diverse use cases such as Industrial, retail, consumer, and precision agriculture along with the unique requirements and drivers for these applications. Connectivity at scale is the starting point and the role of wide area and local area technologies such as  LP-WAN (Low Power Wide Area Network), 5G Redcap Evolution, WiFi, Ambient IoT, and RFID will be discussed. Additionally, the panel will address the current status, challenges, and opportunities in the IoT landscape. The future direction of IoT, emphasizing the pivotal role of artificial intelligence (AI) along with the Digital Twin framework in shaping this dynamic field will be an important theme for the discussion.

Speaker: Patrick Mercier ( Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego)
Moderator: Megha Daga ( Senior Director of Product Management, Qualcomm)
Panelists: Patrick Mercier ( Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego),  David van Gilluwe ( Chief Data Officer, City of Carlsbad),  Christopher Brinton ( Professor Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue), Dr. Xiaoxia Zhang (Senior Director of Engineering, Qualcomm)

The convergence of wireless communication technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) offers a unique opportunity to address sustainability challenges in 6G. During our panel discussion, experts will delve into sustainability aspects of existing networks and future directions for improving sustainability in 6G. Additionally, we’ll explore the pivotal role of wireless networks as enablers of sustainability. Furthermore, we’ll examine the potential challenges and opportunities arising from the integration of AI into wireless systems, all with the goal of creating a more sustainable future. Join us as we explore the dynamic intersection of wireless technology, AI, and sustainability.

Moderator: Gagandeep Bhatti ( Senior Standardization Specialist 5G-Advanced and 6G,  Nokia)
Panelists: Dinesh Bharadia ( Professor, ECE, UC San Diego), Shruti Bothe (Senior Researcher, Ericsson), Alex Tu (VP of Technology, Qualcomm)

The goal of the panel will be to discuss how innovations in wireless, mobile and sensing technologies, connected devices, data and AI can enable the next generation of digital health innovations and adoption.

Moderator: Sujit Dey ( Professor & Director of CWC)
Panelists: Dr. Sanjeev Bhavnani (Senior Cardiologist, Scripps Clinic Rancho San Diego), Alex Gao (Chief Strategy Officer, Health Unity), Drew Hall (Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego), Tanveer Syeda-Mahmood (IBM Fellow & Cheif Scientist, Multimodal Bioinspired AI), Aadeel Akhtar (CEO & Founder, Psyonic)