Integrated Sensing and Communications: Recent Advances and Challenges
A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensor Networks".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 27 March 2026 | Viewed by 36
Special Issue Editors
Interests: next generation networks (5G and beyond); AI application in wireless communication, healthcare and smart city domains; cyber security
Interests: 6G and beyond HetNets; medical IoT; cyber security; quality of experience (QoE) and AI applications in healthcare and smart cities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: AI; machine learning; IoT; vehicular networks; future Internet architecture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The ability to perceive and to communicate are two defining features of modern technology. From medical imaging and security monitoring to wireless networks that connect billions of people worldwide, sensing and communication have each shaped the way society operates. Today, as these two domains converge onto common hardware and spectral resources, we stand at the threshold of a new technological paradigm: Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC). Unlike traditional systems that treat sensing and communication as separate functions, ISAC enables them to coexist within the same framework, promising efficiency, versatility, and richer environmental awareness.
The significance of ISAC is increasingly recognized at the global level. The International Telecommunication Union has identified ISAC as a key component of 6G technology, highlighting this as one of the main uses of next-generation networks. Meanwhile, standardization bodies such as ETSI have launched dedicated initiatives to define architectures, channel models, and KPIs for ISAC deployment. By leveraging a spectrum from sub-6 GHz up to THz, and harnessing innovations in antennas, RF front ends, propagation modeling, and signal processing, ISAC has the potential to transform applications ranging from autonomous driving and disaster response to smart cities, industrial automation, immersive experiences, and digital twins.
This Special Issue seeks contributions that address fundamental theories, practical implementations, and applied innovations in ISAC. We welcome studies that span electromagnetics, antennas, propagation, microwave systems, and signal processing, particularly those that present advances in sensing and imaging through integrated design.
The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- Antenna design and deployment tailored for ISAC systems ;
- Advanced propagation and channel modelling for ISAC across sub-6 GHz, mmWave, THz bands;
- RF front-end and circuit designs optimized for dual-function (sensing + communication) use;
- THz-band ISAC: design, prototyping, and practical implementations;
- ISAC system engineering, including end-to-end architecture and deployment;
- Duplexing techniques (e.g., full-duplex, dynamic TDD);
- High/ultra-high accuracy positioning, localization, and tracking;
- ISAC in V2X/vehicular communications and intelligent traffic systems;
- Ultra-fine resolution imaging using ISAC;
- Inverse scattering, microwave imaging, and radio tomographic imaging;
- Near-field imaging techniques enabled by ISAC;
- 3D object imaging and environmental reconstruction using ISAC;
- Joint design of sensing and communication waveforms;
- Fundamental performance limits and trade-offs;
- Network architectures, protocols, and frame designs;
- Spectrum management, cognitive radio, and shared spectrum strategies for ISAC;
- ISAC security, privacy, and sustainability;
- ISAC with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces and metasurfaces;
- Multi-modal sensing fusion (e.g., RF + optical data);
- UAV and drone-based ISAC systems;
- Edge intelligence and computation co-designed with ISAC;
- Standardization, prototyping, real-world testbeds, and performance validation efforts.
Dr. Muhammad Arslan Usman
Dr. Muhammad Rehan Usman
Dr. Muhammad Azfar Yaqub
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- integrated sensing and communication
- next-generation networks
- wireless networks
- antenna design
- 6G
- AI
- beamforming
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