Multi-Sensor Scheduling for Remote State Estimation over Wireless MIMO Fading Channels with Semantic Over-the-Air Aggregation

Abstract

In this work, we study multi-sensor scheduling for remote state estimation over wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fading channels using a novel semantic over-the-air (SemOTA) aggregation approach. We first revisit Kalman filtering with conventional over-the-air (OTA) aggregation and highlight its transmit power limitations. To balance power efficiency and estimation performance, we formulate the scheduling task as a finite-horizon dynamic programming (DP) problem. By analyzing the structure of the optimal Q-function, we show that the resulting scheduling policy exhibits a semantic structure that adapts online to the estimation error covariance and channel variations. To obtain a practical solution, we derive a tractable upper bound on the Q-function via a positive semidefinite (PSD) cone decomposition, which enables an efficient approximate scheduling policy and a low-complexity remote estimation algorithm. Numerical results confirm that the proposed scheme outperforms existing methods in both estimation accuracy and power efficiency.