While the 5G cellular system is being deployed worldwide, researchers have started the investigation of the 6G mobile communication networks. Although the essential requirements and key usage scenarios of 6G are yet to be defined, it is believed that 6G should be able to provide intelligent and ubiquitous wireless connectivity with Tbps data rate and sub-millisecond latency over 3D network coverage. To achieve such goals, acquiring accurate location information of the mobile terminals is becoming extremely useful, not only for location-based services but also for improving wireless communication performance in various ways such as channel estimation, beam alignment, medium access control, routing, and network optimization. On the other hand, the advancement of communication technologies also brings new opportunities to greatly improve the localization performance, as exemplified by the anticipated centimeter-level localization accuracy in 6G by ultra massive MIMO and mmWave technologies. In this regard, a unified study on integrated localization and communication (ILAC) is necessary to unlock the full potential of wireless networks for the best utilization of network infrastructure and radio resources for dual purposes. While there are extensive literatures on wireless localization or communications separately, the research on ILAC is still in its infancy. Therefore, this article aims to give a tutorial overview on ILAC towards 6G wireless networks. After a holistic survey on wireless localization basics, we present the state-of-the-art results on how wireless localization and communication inter-play with each other in various network layers, together with the main architectures and techniques for localization and communication co-design in current 2D and future 3D networks with aerial-ground integration. Finally, we outline some promising future research directions for ILAC.
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have tremendous potential for both communication and localization. While communication benefits are now well-understood, the breakthrough nature of the technology may well lie in its capability to provide location estimates when conventional approaches fail, (e.g., due to insufficient available infrastructure). A limited number of example scenarios have been identified, but an overview of possible RIS-enabled localization scenarios is still missing from the literature. In this article, we present such an overview and extend localization to include eve…
Integrated Positioning and Communication via LEO Satellites: A Contemporary Overview
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)（阿卜杜拉国王科技大学）；The University of British Columbia（不列颠哥伦比亚大学）；Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)（加泰罗尼亚空间研究所）
6G will be characterized by extreme use cases, not only for communication, but also for localization, and sensing. The use cases can be directly mapped to requirements in terms of standard key performance indicators (KPIs), such as data rate, latency, or localization accuracy. The goal of this paper is to go one step further and map these standard KPIs to requirements on signals, on hardware architectures, and on deployments. Based on this, system solutions can be identified that can support several use cases simultaneously. Since there are several ways to meet the KPIs, there is no unique sol…
Coordinated Beamforming for Networked Integrated Communication and Multi-TMT Localization
National Mobile Communications Research Laboratory, Southeast University（东南大学国家移动通信重点实验室）；Purple Mountain Laboratories（紫金山实验室）；School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales（新南威尔士大学电气与电信工程学院）；Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the University of Texas at Dallas（德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校电气与计算机工程系）
As the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system is being commercialized, extensive studies on the evolution of 5G and sixth-generation mobile communication systems have been conducted. Future mobile communication systems are evidently evolving towards a more intelligent and software-reconfigurable functionality paradigm that can provide ubiquitous communication and also sense, control, and optimize wireless environments. Thus, integrating communication and localization by utilizing the highly directional transmission characteristics of millimeter-wave (mmWave) is a promising route. Th…
A Comprehensive Overview on UWB Radar: Applications, Standards, Signal Processing Techniques, Datasets, Radio Chips, Trends and Future Research Directions
Terahertz (THz)-band communications are a key enabler for future-generation wireless communications systems that promise to integrate a wide range of data-demanding applications. Recent advances in photonic, electronic, and plasmonic technologies are closing the gap in THz transceiver design. Consequently, prospect THz signal generation, modulation, and radiation methods are converging, and corresponding channel model, noise, and hardware-impairment notions are emerging. Such progress establishes a foundation for well-grounded research into THz-specific signal processing techniques for wireles…
Next generation beyond 5G networks are expected to provide both Terabits per second data rate communication services and centimeter-level accuracy localization services in an efficient, seamless and cost-effective manner. However, most of the current communication and localization systems are separately designed, leading to an under-utilization of radio resources and network performance degradation. In this paper, we propose an integrated communication and navigation (ICAN) framework to fully unleash the potential of ultra-dense LEO satellite networks for optimal provisioning of differentiated…
In the last years, we have experienced the evolution of wireless localization from being a simple add-on feature for enabling specific applications to become an essential characteristic of wireless cellular networks, as for sixth-generation (6G) cellular networks. This paper illustrates the importance of radio localization and its role in all the cellular generations, from first-generation (1G) to 6G. Also, it speculates about the idea of holographic localization where the characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) waves, including the spherical wavefront in the near-field, are fully controlled a…
This paper overviews point-to-point (P2P) links for integrated satellite-aerial networks, which are envisioned to be among the key enablers of the sixth-generation (6G) of wireless networks vision. The paper first outlines the unique characteristics of such integrated large-scale complex networks, often denoted by spatial networks, and focuses on two particular space-air infrastructures, namely, satellites networks and high-altitude platforms (HAPs). The paper then classifies the connecting P2P communications links as satellite-to-satellite links at the same layer (SSLL), satellite-to-satellit…
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) provides user tracking and environmental mapping capabilities, enabling communication systems to gain situational awareness. Advanced communication networks with ultra-wideband, multiple antennas, and a large number of connections present opportunities for deep integration of sensing and communications. First, the development of integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) is reviewed in this study, and the differences between ISAC and traditional communication are revealed. Then, efficient mechanisms for multi-domain collaborative SLAM are presente…
CSIYOLO: An Intelligent CSI-based Scatter Sensing Framework for Integrated Sensing and Communication Systems
Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University（清华大学电子工程系）；Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology (BNRist)（北京信息科学与技术国家研究中心）；State Key Laboratory of Mobile Network and Mobile Multimedia Technology（移动网络与移动多媒体技术国家重点实验室）；ZTE Corporation Beijing Research Institute（中兴通讯北京研究院）；Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University（深圳国际研究生院）
Ultra-wideband (UWB) communications have gained popularity in recent years for being able to provide distance measurements and localization with high accuracy, which can enhance the capabilities of devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). Since energy efficiency is of utmost concern in such applications, in this work we evaluate the power and energy consumption, distance measurements, and localization performance of two types of UWB physical interfaces (PHYs), which use either a low- or high-rate pulse repetition (LRP and HRP, respectively). The evaluation is done through measurements acquired…
With recent advancements, the wireless local area network (WLAN) or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology has been successfully utilized to realize sensing functionalities such as detection, localization, and recognition. However, the WLANs standards are developed mainly for the purpose of communication, and thus may not be able to meet the stringent sensing requirements in emerging applications. To resolve this issue, a new Task Group (TG), namely IEEE 802.11bf, has been established by the IEEE 802.11 working group, with the objective of creating a new amendment to the WLAN standard to provide…
