Prof. Michalis Matthaiou
Queen’s University Belfast , UK

Prof. Michalis Matthaiou is currently a Professor of Communications Engineering and Signal Processing and Deputy Director of the Centre for Wireless Innovation (CWI) at Queen’s University Belfast, U.K. During his 17-year career, he has developed innovative solutions for 4G/5G/6G wireless communications underpinned by 230 research papers and multi-million competitive funding. Dr. Matthaiou and his coauthors received the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Leonard G. Abraham Prize in 2017. He currently holds the ERC Consolidator Grant BEATRICE (2021-2026) focused on the interface between information and electromagnetic theories. He was awarded the prestigious 2018/2019 Royal Academy of Engineering/The Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship and also received the 2019 EURASIP Early Career Award. His team was also the Grand Winner of the 2019 Mobile World Congress Challenge. He was the recipient of the 2011 IEEE ComSoc Best Young Researcher Award for the Europe, Middle East and Africa Region and a co-recipient of the 2006 IEEE Communications Chapter Project Prize for the best M.Sc. dissertation in the area of communications. He has co-authored papers that received best paper awards at the 2018 IEEE WCSP and 2014 IEEE ICC and was an Exemplary Reviewer for IEEE Communications Letters for 2010.

Dr. Muhammad Bilal
Harbin Engineering University , China

Dr. Muhammad Bilal received his Bachelor of Science, Master in Engineering, and Doctor of Engineering in Telecommunication Engineering from FAST- National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Hamdard University, and Harbin Engineering University, China respectively. Currently, he is serving as a Post-Doctoral Research fellow at the College of Underwater Acoustic Engineering at Harbin Engineering University, China. He has worked for twelve years in one of the largest research and development organizations Center of Excellence of Science and Technologies, Pakistan. His research interests include underwater communication and networking and the detection and classification of marine mammal sounds. He has published more than 20 papers in high-quality journals and conferences. He is an active reviewer of Nature Scientific Reports, Earth Science, IEEE Journal of Ocean Engineering, IEEE Access, MDPI JMSE, etc.

Talk Title:

Low Probability of Recognition Constraint Covert Underwater Acoustic Communication

Talk Abstract:

Low Probability of Recognition constraint communication is a hot research area where the intruder has less chance to recognize the communication signal as a communication waveform. The communication signal is made akin to the natural sounds present in the environment and data is transmitted by slightly varying the frequency, amplitude, or time interval within the characteristic range of natural noise. The eavesdropper is tricked and recognizes the communication signal as the natural noise of the environment or channel due to signal characteristics. The covert information is encoded or watermarked at the natural sound carrier through a unique method that is known to the transmitter and receiver. The mimicked signal can be detected by the eavesdropper but it is excluded in the process of recognition and classification as it compels an intruder to assume it as the natural sound and the information is kept furtive. Excellent LPR characteristics are achieved. Further communication is performed at high SNR and transmission distance can be increased within the limits of acoustic communication. 

In applications such as underwater submarine communications, frogman communications, and positioning and navigation networks, underwater acoustic communications require information to be transmitted covertly. This research focuses on biologically inspired covert underwater acoustic communication mimicking sea natural noise. Various techniques for stealthy communication in underwater acoustic channels have been analyzed and compared. Their imperceptibility, capacity, and robustness are analyzed and future research direction is highlighted.