Cell-Free Integrated Sensing and Communication: Principles, Advances, and Future Directions

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Galappaththige, Diluka, Mohammadi, Mohammadali, Baduge, Gayan Aruma, Tellambura, Chintha
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866915999294423040
author Galappaththige, Diluka
Mohammadi, Mohammadali
Baduge, Gayan Aruma
Tellambura, Chintha
author_facet Galappaththige, Diluka
Mohammadi, Mohammadali
Baduge, Gayan Aruma
Tellambura, Chintha
contents Cell-free (CF) integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) combines CF architecture with ISAC. CF employs distributed access points, eliminates cell boundaries, and enhances coverage, spectral efficiency, and reliability. ISAC unifies radar sensing and communication, enabling simultaneous data transmission and environmental sensing within shared spectral and hardware resources. CF-ISAC leverages these strengths to improve spectral and energy efficiency while enhancing sensing in wireless networks. As a promising candidate for next-generation wireless systems, CF-ISAC supports robust multi-user communication, distributed multi-static sensing, and seamless resource optimization. However, a comprehensive survey on CF-ISAC has been lacking. This paper fills that gap by first revisiting CF and ISAC principles, covering cooperative transmission, radar cross-section, target parameter estimation, ISAC integration levels, sensing metrics, and applications. It then explores CF-ISAC systems, emphasizing their unique features and the benefits of multi-static sensing. State-of-the-art developments are categorized into performance analysis, resource allocation, security, and user/target-centric designs, offering a thorough literature review and case studies. Finally, the paper identifies key challenges such as synchronization, multi-target detection, interference management, and fronthaul capacity and latency. Emerging trends, including next-generation antenna technologies, network-assisted systems, near-field CF-ISAC, integration with other technologies, and machine learning approaches, are highlighted to outline the future trajectory of CF-ISAC research.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_20345
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cell-Free Integrated Sensing and Communication: Principles, Advances, and Future Directions
Galappaththige, Diluka
Mohammadi, Mohammadali
Baduge, Gayan Aruma
Tellambura, Chintha
Signal Processing
Cell-free (CF) integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) combines CF architecture with ISAC. CF employs distributed access points, eliminates cell boundaries, and enhances coverage, spectral efficiency, and reliability. ISAC unifies radar sensing and communication, enabling simultaneous data transmission and environmental sensing within shared spectral and hardware resources. CF-ISAC leverages these strengths to improve spectral and energy efficiency while enhancing sensing in wireless networks. As a promising candidate for next-generation wireless systems, CF-ISAC supports robust multi-user communication, distributed multi-static sensing, and seamless resource optimization. However, a comprehensive survey on CF-ISAC has been lacking. This paper fills that gap by first revisiting CF and ISAC principles, covering cooperative transmission, radar cross-section, target parameter estimation, ISAC integration levels, sensing metrics, and applications. It then explores CF-ISAC systems, emphasizing their unique features and the benefits of multi-static sensing. State-of-the-art developments are categorized into performance analysis, resource allocation, security, and user/target-centric designs, offering a thorough literature review and case studies. Finally, the paper identifies key challenges such as synchronization, multi-target detection, interference management, and fronthaul capacity and latency. Emerging trends, including next-generation antenna technologies, network-assisted systems, near-field CF-ISAC, integration with other technologies, and machine learning approaches, are highlighted to outline the future trajectory of CF-ISAC research.
title Cell-Free Integrated Sensing and Communication: Principles, Advances, and Future Directions
topic Signal Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.20345