Decentralized Semantic Federated Learning for Real-Time Public Safety Tasks: Challenges, Methods, and Directions

Public safety tasks rely on the collaborative functioning of multiple edge devices (MEDs) and base stations (BSs) in different regions, consuming significant communication energy and computational resources to execute critical operations like fire monitoring and rescue missions. Traditional federated edge computing (EC) methods require frequent central communication, consuming substantial energy and struggling with resource heterogeneity across devices, networks, and data. To this end, this paper introduces a decentralized semantic federated learning (DSFL) framework tailored for large-scale wireless communication systems and heterogeneous MEDs. The framework incorporates a hierarchical semantic communication (SC) scheme to extend EC coverage and reduce communication overhead. Specifically, the lower layer optimizes intra-BS communication through task-specific encoding and selective transmission under constrained networks, while the upper layer ensures robust inter-BS communication via semantic aggregation and distributed consensus across different regions. To further balance communication costs and semantic accuracy, an energy-efficient aggregation scheme is developed for both intra-BS and inter-BS communication. The effectiveness of the DSFL framework is demonstrated through a case study using the BoWFire dataset, showcasing its potential in real-time fire detection scenarios. Finally, we outlines open issues for edge intelligence and SC in public safety tasks.