Toward Physics-Based Generalizable Convolutional Neural Network Models for Indoor Propagation

A fundamental challenge for machine learning (ML) models for electromagnetics is their ability to predict output quantities of interest (such as fields and scattering parameters) in geometries that the model has not been trained for. Addressing this challenge is a key to fulfilling one of the most appealing promises of ML for computational electromagnetics: the rapid solution of problems of interest just by processing the geometry and the sources involved. The impact of such models that can “generalize” to new geometries is more profound for large-scale computations, such as those encountered in wireless propagation scenarios. We present generalizable models for indoor propagation that can predict received signal strengths within new geometries, beyond those of the training set of the model, for transmitters and receivers of multiple positions, and for new frequencies. We show that a convolutional neural network can “learn” the physics of indoor radiowave propagation from ray-tracing solutions of a small set of training geometries so that it can eventually deal with substantially different geometries. We emphasize the role of exploiting physical insights in the training of the network, by defining input parameters and cost functions that assist the network to efficiently learn basic and complex propagation mechanisms.