Intelligent Surface Empowered Integrated Sensing and Communication: From Coexistence to Reciprocity

TL;DR

This paper explores how intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS) can enhance integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems by expanding coverage, improving channel control, and increasing integration gains for future wireless networks.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of IRS-empowered ISAC, including new sensing architectures, deployment strategies, and insights into the interplay between sensing and communication.

Findings

IRS can significantly expand S&C coverage.

Optimized IRS deployment improves system performance.

IRS enhances the channel control and integration gains.

Abstract

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) has attracted growing interests for sixth-generation (6G) and beyond wireless networks. The primary challenges faced by highly efficient ISAC include limited sensing and communication (S&C) coverage, constrained integration gain between S&C under weak channel correlations, and unknown performance boundary. Intelligent reflecting/refracting surfaces (IRSs) can effectively expand S&C coverage and control the degree of freedom of channels between the transmitters and receivers, thereby realizing increasing integration gains. In this work, we first delve into the fundamental characteristics of IRS-empowered ISAC and innovative IRS-assisted sensing architectures. Then, we discuss various objectives for IRS channel control and deployment optimization in ISAC systems. Furthermore, the interplay between S&C in different deployment strategies is investigated and some promising directions for IRS enhanced ISAC are outlined.