Chapter 16: Over-the-Air Computation (AirComp)

Learning Objectives

• Formalize the AirComp model: wireless MAC superposition for analog aggregation of nomographic functions
• Derive the estimation MSE of a zero-forcing AirComp receiver and identify its dependence on per-user channel gain
• State the power-control principle for AirComp (align received magnitudes; invert the channel)
• Connect pre/post-processing to the nomographic-function decomposition; recognize which functions admit one-shot AirComp
• Quantify the MSE–power–privacy tradeoff and position AirComp as an enabler for wireless FL (Chapter 17)