ComSens: Exploiting Pilot Diversity for Pervasive Integration of Communication and Sensing in MIMO-TDD-Frameworks

TL;DR

This paper introduces ComSens, a fully integrated MIMO radar and communication system that uses uncorrelated pilot sequences for simultaneous data transmission and sensing within a TDD framework.

Contribution

It proposes a novel pilot design approach that enables joint communication and radar sensing by exploiting pilot diversity in MIMO-TDD systems.

Findings

Channel MSE is effectively minimized using the proposed pilots.

Designed pilots are uncorrelated over a range of time lags.

Uplink pilot exhibits negligible autocorrelation, suitable for radar sensing.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a fully-integrated radar and communication system -- named ComSens. We utilize two different pilot sequences (one for uplink and one for downlink) with the condition that they must be uncorrelated to each other. Within such a framework, the signal received from end-user and the back-scattered signal from the desired objects have uncorrelated pilots. Thus, the base-station is able to distinguish data signal from user and back-scattered signal from object. We assume a time division duplex (TDD) framework. The pilot sequences are designed for MIMO channels. We evaluate channel MSE as a figure of merit for communication system. We also show that the designed pilots are uncorrelated for a range of time lags. Moreover, designed uplink pilot has negligible autocorrelation for a range of time lags leading to an impulse-like autocorrelation for radar sensing.