ISAC Architecture and Sensing Topology Switching in 6G Cellular Networks

<p>Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is one of the candidate technologies with promising potential for the sixth generation (6G) of wireless networks. This article presents an overview and comparison of the sensing topologies considered for ISAC: monostatic, quasi-monostatic, bistatic and multistatic. We also describe the ISAC architecture with control and processing functions and introduce a new framework that allows topology switching. The proposed switching framework uses the sensing results of a sensing session to assist the ISAC control function to decide whether the current topology should be retained or switched to a different one, in order to maintain optimal sensing performance. Using simulations, we compare various sensing performance indicators, such as received power and angle-ofarrival estimates, across ISAC topologies that are candidates for switching. According to our simulation results, switching to the bistatic sensing topology delivers the best performance, considering deployment and radio conditions. </p>