2018 Workshop on Coding, Cooperation, and Security in Modern Communication Networks (COCO)

On December 10-11, 2018, Haim Permuter of Ben Gurion University, Ido Tal of the Technion, and Gerhard Kramer of the TUM Institute for Communications Engineering are organizing the 2018 Workshop on Coding, Cooperation, and Security in Modern Communication Networks (COCO 2018). This event is part of a German Israeli Project Cooperation supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Funding is also provided by the TUM International Graduate School of Science and Engineering (IGSSE).

The workshop will take place at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology - and will be hosted by the Ollendorff Minerva Center which promotes cooperation with German Universities and Research Institutes. Minerva Centers are funded by the Minerva Foundation. The workshop will bring together researchers from the fields of coding and information theory to explore new ideas. The workshop should promote interaction and collaboration among the participants.

Topics of interest

Coding and Cooperation
Machine Learning and Information Theory
Security and Privacy
Shannon Theory

Confirmed Participants

Giuseppe Caire (TU Berlin)
Albert Guillén i Fàbregas (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Krishna Narayanan (Texas A&M University)
Antonia Tulino (Universitá di Napoli Federico II; Bell Labs, USA)
Or Gershon, Anelia Somekh-Baruch, Jonathan Solel, Sergey Tridenski, Benjamin Zaidel (Bar-Ilan University)
Omri Ben-Eliezer, Elad Domanovitz, Uri Erez, Oren Ganon, Wasim Huleihel (Tel Aviv University)
Or Ordentlich (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Ronit Bustin, Sefi Kampeas (General Motors)
Lele Wang (University of British Columbia)
Eran Hof, Amichai Sanderovich (Qualcomm)
Kfir Cohen, Moshe Gavish, Uri Katz, Michael Peleg (Rafael Ltd.)
Michal Horovitz (Tel-Hai College)
Ran Ravhon (Spectrum dynamics)
Michel Nanikashvili (ELBIT Systems Ltd.)
Avi Gal (Gilat Satellite Networks)
Joseph Hacohen (ELTA-IAI)
Can Khu Vu (Nanyang Technological University)
Alex Sokolovsky, Michael Zarubinsky (Toga Networks Ltd.)
Marcelo Firer (Unicamp Brazil)
Ziv Aharoni, Eli Appleboim, Han Cai, Sefi Kampeas, Haim Permuter, Oron Sabag, Moshe Schwartz, Eli Shmuel (Ben Gurion University)
Ran Averbuch, Israel Berger, Rachel Nirit Berman, Yitzhak Birk, Tatiana Blank, Denis Dikarov, Michael Dikshtein, Tuvi Etzion, Michael IvRoy Karasik, Asif Katz, Yehuda Leviatan, Neri Merhav, Yoram Or-Chen, Uzi Pereg, Shachar Praisler, Eshed Ram, Ronny Roth, Igal Sason, Shlomo Shamai, Noam Shilony, Nir Shlezinger, Boaz Shuval, Yossi Steinberg, Avi Steiner, Sara Stolyarova, Ido Tal, Adam Wolff, Eitan Yaakobi, Lev Yohananov, Yiwei Zhang (Technion)
Christian Deppe, Gerhard Kramer, Andreas Lenz, Thomas Wiegart, Peihong Yuan (TU Munich)

Program

Monday, December 10

8:30	Arrival
8:50	Welcome: Ido Tal, Haim Permuter, Gerhard Kramer
Session 1 Keynote (Chair: Ido Tal)
9:00	Shlomo Shamai (Shitz) (Technion): Cloud Radio Access Networks, Distributed Information Bottleneck, and more: A Unified Information Theoretic View (Abstract)
10:00	Coffee break
Session 2 Tutorial (Chair: Giuseppe Caire)
10:30	Haim Permuter and Ziv Aharoni (BGU): Interaction Points Between Information Theory and Machine Learning
12:00	Lunch
Session 3 Coding, Error Probability and Polarization (Chair: Antonia Tulino)
13:30	Krishna Narayanan (Texas A&M): Coded Compressed (COCO) Sensing for Unsourced Multiple Access
14:00	Albert Guillén i Fàbregas (Universitat Pompeu Fabra): Saddlepoint Approximations of the Error Probability in Channel Coding
14:30	Peihong Yuan (TUM): Polar Coding with Non-binary 2x2 Kernels
14:50	Boaz Shuval (Technion): Universal Polarization for Processes with Memory
15:10	Coffee break
Session 4 Coding for Networks and DNA (Chair: Gerhard Kramer)
15:30	Moshe Schwartz (BGU): More on the Gap between Vector Linear and Scalar Linear Network Coding
16:00	Anelia Somekh-Baruch (Bar-Ilan University): Converse Results for Channel Coding with Given Decoding Metrics
16:30	Han Cai (BGU): Optimal Locally Repairable Codes with Multiple Disjoint Repair Sets
16:50	Andreas Lenz (TUM): Correcting Duplications of Multiple Consecutive Symbols

Tuesday, December 11

Session 5 Keynote (Chair: Haim Permuter)
9:00	Eitan Yaakobi (Technion): Coding for Private Information and Retrieval
10:00	Coffee break
Session 6 Tutorial (Chair: Anelia Somekh-Baruch)
10:30	Gerhard Kramer (TUM): Review of Communication Theory for Key Agreement by Public Discussion
12:00	Lunch
Session 7 Shannon Theory (Chair: Krishna Narayanan)
13:30	Uzi Pereg (Technion): The Arbitrarily Varying Gaussian Relay Channel with Sender Frequency Division
13:50	Christian Deppe (TUM): Secure Identification with a PUF Source
14:20	Antonia Tulino (Universitá di Napoli Federico II; Bell Labs, USA): Bridging the gap between the extremes of complete side information versus no side information in consistent distributed storage
14:50	Oron Sabag (BGU): Graph-Based Auxiliary R.V.'s for Channels with Memory
15:10	Coffee break
Session 8 Coding & Cooperation (Chair: Shlomo Shamai)
15:30	Giuseppe Caire (TU Berlin): Non-Bayesian Activity Detection and Large-Scale Path Gain Estimation in Massive Random Access
16:00	Elad Domanovitz (Tel Aviv University): A Simple Receive Diversity Technique for Distributed Beamforming
16:20	Thomas Wiegart (TUM): Design of Polar Codes for Parallel Channels with an Average Power Constraint
16:40	Eli Shmuel (BGU): Finite-State Channel with Feedback and Causal State Information Available at the Encoder

Registration

The registration is free. We simply ask you to register here for the purpose of including you in the above "Confirmed Participants" list. This will help us with planning for food, and for advertising.

Venue

The workshop will take place at Technion (Room 1003, 10th floor, Meyer building, Electrical Engineering Department). The conference hotel is Dan Panorama Haifa. There will be a shuttle service between the hotel and Technion.

Directions

Airports in Israel
- Ben Gurion Airport (Tel Aviv)
- Sde Dov Airport (Tel Aviv)
- Eilat Airport (Eilad)
From Ben-Gurion Airport to Haifa
- By Train: there is a train service from the airport to Haifa. The fare is about 40NIS one way. Sunday through Thursday, between 05:00 and 23:00 the trains run about every half hour, between 23:00 and 5:00 every hour. Fridays they run until early afternoon, and Saturdays only in the late evening. You can check the train schedule at the Israel Railways Web Site. The most convenient station for Technion is "Hof HaCarmel", from where you can take a bus (NO. 11), a taxi (see below), or a shuttle (No. 11).
- By Taxi: there is a taxi stand outside the airport. The fare for a private taxi to the Technion is about 400NIS ($100).
Entry into Technion (from "Hof HaCarmel")
- By Bus: take bus no. 11. This bus brings you right into the Technion campus. It runs frequently throughout the day. You can check the bus schedule at Egged web site. We recommend that you take a taxi from the bus station to Technion, as the bus can take 3/4 hour in the morning peak hours, whereas a taxi is much quicker.
- By Taxi (Tel: 04-888-8888 or 077-50-60-344): the taxi fare from Haifa Hof Hacarmel Bus Station to the Technion is approximately 30 NIS. Ask the driver to operate the meter, and ask him to take you to the main Technion gate. There is also a sherut (shared taxi) service which will bring you into the Technion and is cheaper than a private taxi.
Getting around by train: the train is a great way to travel Israel – from Haifa you can take a 1 hour ride to Tel Aviv (or 3 hours to Jerusalem) - Schedule: https://www.rail.co.il/en
- Haifa – Visitors arriving by train from Tel Aviv (south) are advised to leave the train on “Hof HaCarmel” station and from there take a taxi (Tel: 04-888-8888 or 077-50-60-344) to the hotel/Technion.
- Tel Aviv – There are several stations to choose from:
  - Tel Aviv - University – the best station to get off and take a taxi to Sde Dov Airport
  - Tel Aviv - HaShalom
  - Tel Aviv - Savidor Center
  - Ben Gurion Airport

Further Information

Contact: Ido Tal, Gerhard Kramer