Jointly Improving Information Timeliness and Fidelity under Finite-Blocklength Source Coding in a Wireless IoT System

DUAN Jianxin; ZHANG Tianci; CHEN Zhengchuan; ZHANG Di; ZHU Xu; TIAN Zhong; WANG Min; ZHANG Lütianyang

doi:10.11999/JEIT251057

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DUAN Jianxin, ZHANG Tianci, CHEN Zhengchuan, ZHANG Di, ZHU Xu, TIAN Zhong, WANG Min, ZHANG Lütianyang. Jointly Improving Information Timeliness and Fidelity under Finite-Blocklength Source Coding in a Wireless IoT System[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT251057

Citation:

DUAN Jianxin, ZHANG Tianci, CHEN Zhengchuan, ZHANG Di, ZHU Xu, TIAN Zhong, WANG Min, ZHANG Lütianyang. Jointly Improving Information Timeliness and Fidelity under Finite-Blocklength Source Coding in a Wireless IoT System[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT251057

Citation:

DUAN Jianxin, ZHANG Tianci, CHEN Zhengchuan, ZHANG Di, ZHU Xu, TIAN Zhong, WANG Min, ZHANG Lütianyang. Jointly Improving Information Timeliness and Fidelity under Finite-Blocklength Source Coding in a Wireless IoT System[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT251057

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Jointly Improving Information Timeliness and Fidelity under Finite-Blocklength Source Coding in a Wireless IoT System

doi: 10.11999/JEIT251057 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT251057

1.
Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Cognitive Radio and Information Processing, Ministry of Education Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
3.
Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
4.
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
5.
Shenzhen Municipal Key Laboratory of AIoT Communications, Shenzhen 518055, China
6.
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China
7.
Guangxi Wireless Broadband Communication and Signal Processing Key Laboratory, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (62271092), The Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (CSTB2023NSCQ-MSX0933), The Key Laboratory of Cognitive Radio and Information Processing , Ministry of Education (CRKL240203), Henan Natural Science Foundation for Excellent Young Scholar (242300421169), The Start-Up Grant from the Sun Yat-sen University (7616012256017, 7616012266015), The International Science and Technology Cooperation Programs of Guangdong Province (2025A0505020024), The Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province (2026B0909060001), The Project of Guangxi Wireless Broadband Communication and Signal Processing Key Laboratory (AD25069102)

Received Date: 2025-10-09
Accepted Date: 2026-04-08
Rev Recd Date: 2026-02-27

Available Online: 2026-04-28

Abstract

Abstract

Objective Wireless Internet of Things (IoT) information update systems are essential for time-sensitive applications. In these systems, timely information delivery with high fidelity is critical for accurate sensing, estimation, and decision-making. However, short-packet transmission and strict latency requirements make classical asymptotic rate-distortion theory insufficient for characterizing practical system performance. Under finite-blocklength source coding, shorter source-coding blocklengths reduce latency but increase distortion, whereas longer source-coding blocklengths improve information fidelity at the cost of higher delay. This leads to a fundamental trade-off between information timeliness and information fidelity, which remains insufficiently characterized in the non-asymptotic regime. Methods Age of Information (AoI) and Mean Squared Error (MSE) are used to quantify information timeliness and information fidelity, respectively. Closed-form expressions for time-average AoI and time-average MSE are derived under finite-blocklength source coding. Based on distortion tolerance, excess distortion probability, and transmission rate, a joint optimization problem is formulated to minimize the weighted-sum objective of time-average AoI and time-average MSE. The monotonicity and convexity of the objective function are analyzed with respect to these design variables. An alternating iterative algorithm is then developed to jointly optimize distortion tolerance, excess distortion probability, and transmission rate. Results and Discussions Numerical simulations are conducted under different weight settings to examine the trade-off between information timeliness and information fidelity in representative operating scenarios. The proposed framework reveals the effect of finite-blocklength parameters on system performance. The results show that the proposed method balances AoI and MSE under different design priorities. At a transmit power of 20 dB, the weighted-sum metric of the scheme with the highest distortion tolerance is improved by approximately 33.7% compared with that of the scheme with the lowest distortion tolerance. The maximum relative error between the theoretical analysis and Monte Carlo simulations remains below 0.3%, verifying the accuracy of the derived analytical expressions. Conclusions This paper presents a non-asymptotic analysis of the timeliness-fidelity trade-off in a wireless IoT information update system by explicitly considering finite-blocklength source coding. By treating distortion tolerance, excess distortion probability, and transmission rate as design variables, the proposed framework verifies the necessity of finite-blocklength modeling and the advantage of joint parameter optimization. The results provide theoretical guidance for the design and optimization of timely and high-fidelity wireless IoT systems.
- Age of Information(AoI),
- Mean Squared Error(MSE),
- Finite-blocklength source coding,
- Wireless Internet of Things(IoT) system

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References(16)

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