Estimating Target Doppler in Unsynchronized Multistatic ISAC Deployments with Mobile Nodes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for estimating target Doppler shifts in complex, unsynchronized multistatic ISAC systems with mobile nodes, addressing a key challenge in 6G network sensing and communication integration.

Contribution

It presents the first approach to estimate Doppler frequency in mobile, asynchronous multistatic ISAC setups without external references, using phase invariance and geometrical relationships.

Findings

Method works with at least 4 RXs in simulations

Accurately estimates Doppler shifts despite asynchrony and mobility

Validates approach through numerical simulations in various scenarios

Abstract

Integrated Sensing And Communication (ISAC) is recognized as a key enabler for future 6th Generation (6G) networks, combining communication capabilities with pervasive sensing. In such systems, the estimation of the Doppler shift plays a crucial role for target characterization. However, typical real-world ISAC scenarios largely involve bistatic or multistatic configurations and mobile ISAC nodes. Under these conditions, Doppler estimation becomes particularly challenging, as clock asynchrony between the Transmitter (TX) and the Receivers (RXs), combined with their mobility, introduces additional Doppler components and phase offsets that distort or disrupt the target-induced frequency shift. Existing works have considered these challenges separately or relied on external reference reflectors. In this paper, we present the first method to estimate the Doppler frequency of a target with mobile and asynchronous ISAC nodes in a multistatic configuration, considering the case of a mobile TX and multiple static RXs, and without leveraging any external reflector. By leveraging the invariance of the phase offsets across multipath components and exploiting geometrical relationships, we show that the problem is solvable if at least 4 RXs are present. We evaluate the proposed solution through numerical simulations in various scenarios, showing that it is a valid approach for estimating target Doppler shifts in unsynchronized multistatic ISAC deployments with mobile nodes.