# Semantic Communications: Principles and Challenges

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.01389 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.01389/

## Key facts

- Cited by 91 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 46 of its 85 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 30 Dec 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 46)

- [BERT: Pre-training of Deep Bidirectional Transformers for Language Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.04805/) (2018)
- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Deep Features as a Perceptual Metric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.03924/) (2018)
- [Explaining and Harnessing Adversarial Examples](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6572/) (2014)
- [Improved Techniques for Training GANs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.03498/) (2016)
- [Perceptual Losses for Real-Time Style Transfer and Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1603.08155/) (2016)
- [Adversarial examples in the physical world](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.02533/) (2016)
- [Deep Visual-Semantic Alignments for Generating Image Descriptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.2306/) (2014)
- [End-to-end Optimized Image Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.01704/) (2016)
- [Neural Motifs: Scene Graph Parsing with Global Context](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.06640/) (2017)
- [Unbiased Scene Graph Generation from Biased Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.11949/) (2020)
- [Lossy Image Compression with Compressive Autoencoders](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.00395/) (2017)
- [Deep Learning Enabled Semantic Communication Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10685/) (2020)
- [Adversarial Training Methods for Semi-Supervised Text Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1605.07725/) (2016)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks for Extreme Learned Image Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.02958/) (2018)
- [Learning Fine-grained Image Similarity with Deep Ranking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1404.4661/) (2014)
- [Real-Time Adaptive Image Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.05823/) (2017)
- [Visual Translation Embedding Network for Visual Relation Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.08319/) (2017)
- [6G Networks: Beyond Shannon Towards Semantic and Goal-Oriented Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.14844/) (2020)
- [Text-based Editing of Talking-head Video](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.01524/) (2019)
- [Deceiving Google's Perspective API Built for Detecting Toxic Comments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.08138/) (2017)
- [Semantic Communication Systems for Speech Transmission](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.12605/) (2021)
- [DeepJSCC-f: Deep Joint Source-Channel Coding of Images with Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.11174/) (2019)
- [High Fidelity Speech Synthesis with Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.11646/) (2019)
- [Learning Convolutional Networks for Content-weighted Image Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.10553/) (2017)
- [Task-Oriented Multi-User Semantic Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10255/) (2021)
- [A Lite Distributed Semantic Communication System for Internet of Things](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.11095/) (2020)
- [Deep Learning for Joint Source-Channel Coding of Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.06832/) (2018)
- [Semantics-Empowered Communication for Networked Intelligent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.11579/) (2020)
- [Learning Semantic Concepts and Order for Image and Sentence Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.02036/) (2017)
- [Wireless Image Retrieval at the Edge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.10915/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 91)

- [Beyond Transmitting Bits: Context, Semantics, and Task-Oriented Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.09353/) (2022)
- [Less Data, More Knowledge: Building Next Generation Semantic Communication Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.14343/) (2022)
- [Robust Semantic Communications with Masked VQ-VAE Enabled Codebook](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.04011/) (2022)
- [Large Language Models Empowered Autonomous Edge AI for Connected Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.02779/) (2023)
- [Wireless Deep Video Semantic Transmission](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.13129/) (2022)
- [Generative Semantic Communication: Diffusion Models Beyond Bit Recovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.04321/) (2023)
- [Towards Semantic Communications: Deep Learning-Based Image Semantic Coding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.04094/) (2022)
- [Task-Oriented Communications for NextG: End-to-End Deep Learning and AI Security Aspects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.09668/) (2022)
- [Language-Oriented Communication with Semantic Coding and Knowledge Distillation for Text-to-Image Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.11127/) (2023)
- [Neuromorphic Wireless Cognition: Event-Driven Semantic Communications for Remote Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06047/) (2022)
- [Vector Quantized Semantic Communication System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.11519/) (2022)
- [Robust Semantic Communications Against Semantic Noise](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.03338/) (2022)
- [Curriculum Learning for Goal-Oriented Semantic Communications with a Common Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.10429/) (2022)
- [Wireless End-to-End Image Transmission System using Semantic Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.13721/) (2023)
- [Large Generative Model Assisted 3D Semantic Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.05783/) (2024)
- [Knowledge Base Enabled Semantic Communication: A Generative Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12443/) (2023)
- [Is Semantic Communications Secure? A Tale of Multi-Domain Adversarial Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.10438/) (2022)
- [Vulnerabilities of Deep Learning-Driven Semantic Communications to Backdoor (Trojan) Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.11205/) (2022)
- [Adaptive Resource Allocation for Semantic Communication Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.01081/) (2023)
- [Pragmatic Communication in Multi-Agent Collaborative Perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.12694/) (2024)
- [Language-Oriented Semantic Latent Representation for Image Transmission](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.09976/) (2024)
- [Age of Information in Deep Learning-Driven Task-Oriented Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.04298/) (2023)
- [Robust Image Semantic Coding with Learnable CSI Fusion Masking over MIMO Fading Channels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.07389/) (2024)
- [Semantics-Empowered Communication: A Tutorial-cum-Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08487/) (2022)
- [Optimization of Image Transmission in a Cooperative Semantic Communication Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.00433/) (2023)
- [Cognitive Semantic Communication Systems Driven by Knowledge Graph: Principle, Implementation, and Performance Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08546/) (2023)
- [A Wireless AI-Generated Content (AIGC) Provisioning Framework Empowered by Semantic Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.17705/) (2023)
- [Generative AI-aided Joint Training-free Secure Semantic Communications via Multi-modal Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.02616/) (2023)
- [Agent-driven Generative Semantic Communication with Cross-Modality and Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.06997/) (2024)
- [Synchronous Multi-modal Semantic Communication System with Packet-level Coding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.04535/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Semantic communication, regarded as the breakthrough beyond the Shannon paradigm, aims at the successful transmission of semantic information conveyed by the source rather than the accurate reception of each single symbol or bit regardless of its meaning. This article provides an overview on semantic communications. After a brief review of Shannon information theory, we discuss semantic communications with theory, framework, and system design enabled by deep learning. Different from the symbol/bit error rate used for measuring conventional communication systems, performance metrics for semantic communications are also discussed. The article concludes with several open questions in semantic communications.