Model aggregation techniques in federated learning: A comprehensive survey

Federated learning (FL) is a distributed machine learning (ML) approach that enables models to be trained on client devices while ensuring the privacy of user data. Model aggregation, also known as model fusion, plays a vital role in FL. It involves combining locally generated models from client devices into a single global model while maintaining user data privacy. However, the accuracy and reliability of the resulting global model depend on the aggregation method chosen, making the selection of an appropriate method crucial. Initially, the simple averaging of model weights was the most commonly used method. However, due to its limitations in handling low-quality or malicious models, alternative techniques have been explored. As FL gains popularity in various domains, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the available model aggregation techniques and their respective strengths and limitations. However, there is currently a significant gap in the literature when it comes to systematic and comprehensive reviews of these techniques. To address this gap, this paper presents a systematic literature review encompassing 201 studies on model aggregation in FL. The focus is on summarizing the proposed techniques and the ones currently applied for model fusion. This survey serves as a valuable resource for researchers to enhance and develop new aggregation techniques, as well as for practitioners to select the most appropriate method for their FL applications.