Quantum-enhanced federated learning for metaverse-empowered vehicular networks

In the rapidly evolving domain of vehicular metaverse, this study introduces a cutting-edge quantum-based decentralized and heterogeneity-aware federated learning framework for vehicular metaverse named QV-FEDCOM, which stands as a testament to the innovative fusion of quantum computing principles with federated learning (FL). This framework is ingeniously tailored to address the challenges in a vehicular metaverse, offering a cost-efficient and adaptive solution for the dynamic vehicular landscape. QV-FEDCOM is strengthened by key components like quantum sequential-training-program, with reinforcement learning-based dynamic mode switching to reduce communication costs and manage vehicle states adaptively, and the quantum vehicle-context-grouping utilizing hierarchical clustering and simulated annealing for effective vehicle grouping based on contextual data similarity, addressing the complexities of data heterogeneity. Additionally, the integration of quantum-inspired principal component analysis (Q-PCA) enhances memory efficiency, further optimizing the framework. These elements converge in the QV-FEDCOM algorithm, establishing a decentralized, efficient, and context-aware quantum federated learning (QFL) process that redefines learning dynamics in the vehicular metaverse. Our study also introduces an innovative quantum trajectory loss (QTL) function, specifically designed for trajectory prediction tasks, which combines the Huber loss with an angular deviation penalty to robustly handle errors and penalize large deviations in the predicted trajectory angle. The effectiveness of the QV-FEDCOM framework is rigorously validated through comprehensive simulations, with its performance meticulously compared against various adaptations, showcasing its transformative capabilities within the vehicular metaverse ecosystem.