Communication-Efficient Federated Domain Generalization in Edge Networks via Dynamic Prototype Regulation

Abstract

Federated learning (FL) is a distributed paradigm for Internet of Things (IoT) edge networks. However, deploying Vision-Language Models (VLMs) over wireless edge networks presents distinct challenges: large model parameters increase uplink transmission latency over bandwidth-constrained fading channels, and non-independent and identically distributed (Non-IID) data exacerbates client drift. Existing feature alignment solutions often introduce auxiliary computations that consume time slots allocated for wireless parameter transmission, increasing the likelihood of straggler dropouts under system delay constraints. To address these issues, we propose DPGR-GCAM, a communication-efficient federated domain generalization framework. By employing a dual-parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) architecture, we design a channel-aware tiered transmission mechanism that adaptively truncates payloads to maximize node survival rates under fading conditions. To mitigate client drift, we introduce the Gradient-Conflict Aware Modulation (GCAM) mechanism. GCAM operates within the low-dimensional feature manifold to dynamically resolve multi-objective optimization conflicts with minimal edge computation latency, thereby reducing computation-induced network outages. Experiments demonstrate that DPGR-GCAM improves cross-domain generalization and sustains convergence under network fading scenarios with a 10% client participation rate.