Wireless data aggregation (WDA), referring to aggregating data distributed at devices (e.g., sensors and smartphone), is a common operation in 5G-and-beyond machine-type communications to support Internet-of-Things (IoT), which lays the foundation for diversified applications such as distributed sensing, learning, and control. Conventional WDA techniques that are designed based on a separated-communication-and-computation principle encounter difficulty in accommodating the massive access under the limited radio resource and stringent latency constraints imposed by emerging applications (e.g, auto-driving). To address this issue, over-the-air computation (AirComp) is being developed as a new WDA solution by seamlessly integrating computation and communication. By exploiting the waveform superposition property of a multiple-access channel, AirComp turns the air into a computer for computing and communicating functions of distributed data at many devices, thereby allowing low-latency WDA over massive devices. In view of growing interests on AirComp, this article provides a timely overview of the technology by introducing basic principles, discussing advanced techniques and applications, and identifying promising research opportunities.

中文翻译：

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大规模物联网中无线数据聚合的空中计算

无线数据聚合（WDA），是指聚合分布在设备（如传感器和智能手机）上的数据，是 5G 及超越机器类型通信中支持物联网（IoT）的常见操作，它奠定了分布式传感、学习和控制等多样化应用的基础。基于通信与计算分离原理设计的传统 WDA 技术在新兴应用（例如自动驾驶）所施加的有限无线电资源和严格延迟限制下难以适应大规模接入。为了解决这个问题，通过无缝集成计算和通信，正在开发空中计算 (AirComp) 作为一种新的 WDA 解决方案。利用多址信道的波形叠加特性，AirComp 将空气变成一台计算机，用于在许多设备上计算和通信分布式数据的功能，从而允许在海量设备上进行低延迟 WDA。鉴于对 AirComp 的兴趣日益增长，本文通过介绍基本原理、讨论先进技术和应用以及确定有前景的研究机会，及时概述了该技术。