The RFML Ecosystem: A Look at the Unique Challenges of Applying Deep Learning to Radio Frequency Applications

While deep machine learning technologies are now pervasive in state-of-the-art image recognition and natural language processing applications, only in recent years have these technologies started to sufficiently mature in applications related to wireless communications. In particular, recent research has shown deep machine learning to be an enabling technology for cognitive radio applications as well as a useful tool for supplementing expertly defined algorithms for spectrum sensing applications such as signal detection, estimation, and classification (termed here as Radio Frequency Machine Learning, or RFML). A major driver for the usage of deep machine learning in the context of wireless communications is that little, to no, a priori knowledge of the intended spectral environment is required, given that there is an abundance of representative data to facilitate training and evaluation. However, in addition to this fundamental need for sufficient data, there are other key considerations, such as trust, security, and hardware/software issues, that must be taken into account before deploying deep machine learning systems in real-world wireless communication applications. This paper provides an overview and survey of prior work related to these major research considerations. In particular, we present their unique considerations in the RFML application space, which are not generally present in the image, audio, and/or text application spaces.