Information-Theoretic Advances and Emerging Technologies for Cognitive Radio Systems
A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Information Theory, Probability and Statistics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 264
Special Issue Editors
Interests: massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) communication (i.e., including co-located mMIMO and cell-free/distributed mMIMO); full-duplex communication (FD); backscatter communication (BackCom); reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs); integrated sensing and communication (ISAC); near-field ISAC; wireless power transfer; cognitive radios; emerging technologies for enabling fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless networks
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: cognitive radios; detection and estimation; diversity and fading countermeasures; multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems; multiuser communications; orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM); relay-assisted/cooperative communications
Interests: span diverse areas; full-duplex communications; wireless power transfer; OTFS modulation; cell-free massive MIMO
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cognitive Radio Systems (CRS) continue to play a pivotal role in addressing the spectrum scarcity and adaptability challenges of modern wireless communication. By enabling intelligent, context-aware spectrum access, and dynamic resource allocation, CRS are critical enablers of next-generation wireless networks.
Information theory provides the foundational framework for analyzing, modeling, and optimizing key functions of CRS, including spectrum sensing, interference management, and adaptive coding. Over the years, information-theoretic tools, such as mutual information metrics, entropy-based decision-making, and rate-distortion methods, have advanced the reliability, efficiency, and security of CRS in increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous environments.
A new wave of emerging technologies is significantly expanding the design space and capabilities of CRS. Innovations such as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), extremely large antenna arrays (ELAAs), near-field communication, and novel flexible antenna architectures—including movable, fluid, and pinching antennas—are reshaping how wireless environments can be engineered and controlled. These advancements open both new challenges and exciting opportunities for the application and extension of information-theoretic principles in the design of next-generation CRS.
This Special Issue invites contributions that explore both theoretical foundations and practical innovations at the intersection of information theory, CRS, and emerging wireless technologies. We welcome submissions on topics including, but not limited to the following:
- Information-theoretic modeling and analysis for CRS with RIS;
- Information-theoretic advances with ELAA design and near-field communications;
- Entropy- and mutual information-based spectrum sensing and decision-making;
- Rate-distortion and adaptive coding strategies for dynamic CRS environments;
- New flexible antenna technologies, including movable, fluid, and pinching antenna systems, and their impact on CRS capacity and adaptability;
- Interference modeling, coexistence strategies, and robust spectrum sharing;
- Machine learning methods grounded in information theory for CRS optimization;
- Real-time decision-making algorithms and online learning in uncertain spectral environments;
- Energy-aware and ultra-reliable CRS enabled by emerging technologies.
We invite researchers and practitioners to contribute to this evolving field and help shape the future of intelligent wireless communication.
Dr. Diluka Galappaththige
Prof. Dr. Chintha Tellambura
Dr. MohammadAli Mohammadi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cognitive radio systems
- information theory
- entropy/entropy-based analysis
- spectrum sensing
- dynamic spectrum access
- interference management
- adaptive coding
- rate-distortion theory
- energy-efficient communication
- machine learning for CRSs
- optimization
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