Wireless innovations Next-generation
Online Workshop (WiNOW)
3-6 November, 2025 // Virtual
Pei Xiao
University of Surrey
Pei Xiao is a professor of Wireless Communications at the Institute for Communication Systems, home of 5GIC and 6GIC at the University of Surrey. He is the technical manager of 5GIC/6GIC, leading the research team in the new physical layer work area, and coordinating/supervising research activities across all the work areas (https://www.surrey.ac.uk/institute-communication-systems/5g-6g-innovation-centre). He has published extensively in the fields of communication theory, RF and antenna design, signal processing for wireless communications. Professor Xiao’s research focuses on next-generation wireless technologies, with a specific emphasis on IoT applications, satellite communications, and high-mobility vehicular networks. A key aspect of his work involves innovative waveform designs for integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), which enable seamless integration of sensing and communication functionalities His contributions have significantly reduced hardware complexity and enhanced radio resource utilization through advanced signal processing techniques. Additionally, he has played a pivotal role in advancing sparse code multiple access (SCMA) systems, driving improvements in connectivity and spectrum efficiency for 5G networks and beyond.
Talk Title: Affine Frequency Division Multiplexing (AFDM) – New Waveform for 6G
Affine Frequency Division Multiplexing (AFDM) is a promising chirp-based multicarrier modulation scheme that combines backward compatibility with existing Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems and full channel diversity over doubly selective channels. Unlike many emerging waveforms, AFDM can be implemented with minimal modifications to current OFDM-based 4G/5G infrastructures, enabling seamless integration into legacy systems. At the same time, AFDM offers significantly enhanced reliability in doubly dispersive channels, making it a strong candidate for efficient communication, sensing, localization and their integration in complex wireless environments.
In this talk, we will provide a comprehensive and in-depth introduction to AFDM and its variants, covering the context, basic principles, standardization efforts for 6G, advanced transceiver design, and its applications in integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). Special attention will be given to AFDM designs that are compatible with the existing 5G physical layer structure, including backward compatibility with CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM systems and scheduling flexibility. Moreover, we will highlight the advantages of AFDM for ISAC design, such as compatibility with frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar, flexible frame structures, and hardware-friendly AFDM-ISAC solutions to address full-duplex requirements in monostatic sensing scenarios.