Semantic Communication for Cooperative Multi-Task Processing over Wireless Networks

In this paper, we have expanded the current status of semantic communication limited to processing one task to a more general system that can handle multiple tasks concurrently. In pursuit of this, we first introduced our definition of the "semantic source", enabling the interpretation of multiple semantics based on a single observation. A semantic encoder design is then introduced, featuring the division of the encoder into a common unit and multiple specific units enabling cooperative multi-task processing. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed semantic source and the system design. Our approach employs information maximization (infomax) and end-to-end design principles.