Integrated sensing and communications waveform design: Fundamentals, applications, challenges

Abstract

Integrated Sense of Communication (ISAC) is gradually becoming one of the core technologies in the sixth-generation mobile communication system. ISAC enhances spectrum efficiency and reduces equipment size, costs, and power consumption while minimizing interference between the two functions. The technology is introduced in terms of historical background and definition, application scenarios, current problems of ISAC technology, and the development history of ISAC technology. The latest research progress of ISAC technology is summarized in terms of waveform design, introducing sensing-centered waveform design, communication-centered waveform design, and sensing-communication joint waveform design, respectively. The ISAC waveform performance index introduces the performance aspects that need attention in waveform design to achieve improvement. It presents the application of ISAC technology in some recent emerging technologies and the current challenges and future outlook of ISAC waveform design.