NeuroBA: Neuro-Symbolic Bitrate Adaptation for IRS-Aided Mobile Video Streaming
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Chen, Miaojiang, Wenjing Xiao, Anfeng Liu, et al. “NeuroBA: Neuro-Symbolic Bitrate Adaptation for IRS-Aided Mobile Video Streaming.” IEEE Transactions on Networking 34 (2026): 2558–72. https://doi.org/10.1109/TON.2025.3650266.
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Abstract
Intelligent adaptive bitrate (ABR) schemes have been widely recognized for their excellent learning strategies. However, existing intelligent ABR methods have limitations, i.e., the lack of logical reasoning capability for video-aware symbolic representations leads to low sampling efficiency and fails to achieve the optimal performance of Bitrate Adaptation. We introduce NeuroBA, a learning-based approach to realize ABR using neuro-symbolic deep reinforcement learning. NeuroBA trains a neuro-symbolic deep network model without making any assumptions about the edge video scene and without relying on a predefined model. Instead, it enables bitrate decision-making under uncertainty and partial observability by knowledge-driven video quality perception in symbolic first-order logic. To enhance wireless signals, we have introduced Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) technology to address this issue. By dynamically adjusting the phase shift of IRS, the throughput performance of wireless networks is significantly improved. Based on trace-driven and real-world experiments covering a variety of edge video scenarios, and network performance metrics, NeuroBA is compared with state-of-the-art ABR schemes, and NeuroBA exhibits superior performance, with an average QoE improvement of 16.58% (BOLA)-25.34% (Fugu). In particular, it outperforms existing baseline approaches even without pre-programmed models and network scenarios assumed for the edge network.