AI 中文总结
本文探讨可旋转天线（RA）技术如何通过视轴控制应对天-空-地一体化网络（SAGINs）中固定天线在覆盖、对准和感知方面的挑战，并分析设计挑战、未来方向及原型仿真验证其性能增益。
AI 中文摘要
天-空-地一体化网络（SAGINs）预计将在未来第六代（6G）无线网络中支持无处不在的三维（3D）通信与感知服务。然而，跨越空间、空中和地面段落的异构移动性与服务需求，对固定视轴或固定扇区天线在支持广域覆盖、在时变通信链路上维持方向对准以及灵活调整感知任务的观测方向等方面提出了挑战。为应对这些限制，可旋转天线（RA）技术应运而生，成为一种有前景的解决方案，它通过机械或电子视轴调整，同时保持天线位置固定。本文探讨了RA技术在SAGINs中赋能通信与感知的作用。具体而言，我们首先解释了RA视轴控制如何补充平台移动性并支持广域覆盖、动态定向传输、跨段协同操作和协同感知。随后，我们讨论了主要的设计挑战、潜在方法和未来研究方向，包括信道获取与预测跟踪、联合方向控制与接入/切换协调、跨段协调与资源管理，以及部署权衡与实际实施。最后，展示了一个RA阵列原型和两项代表性仿真研究，以说明RA赋能的SAGINs的可行性和潜在性能增益。
英文摘要
Space-air-ground integrated networks (SAGINs) are expected to support ubiquitous three-dimensional (3D) communication and sensing services in future sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. However, heterogeneous mobility and service requirements across the space, air, and ground segments challenge fixed-boresight or fixed-sector antennas in supporting wide-area coverage, maintaining directional alignment over time-varying communication links, and flexibly adjusting observation directions for sensing tasks. To address these limitations, non-fixed flexible antenna architectures, such as fluid antenna system (FAS), movable antenna (MA), and pinching antenna, have garnered significant interest in recent years. Among them, rotatable antenna (RA) technology has emerged as a promising solution by enabling mechanical or electronic boresight adjustment while keeping the antenna positions fixed. This article investigates the roles of RA technology in enabling communication and sensing in SAGINs. Specifically, we first explain how RA boresight control complements platform mobility and supports wide-area coverage, dynamic directional transmission, cross-segment cooperative operation, and cooperative sensing. We then discuss the main design challenges, potential approaches, and future research directions, including channel acquisition and predictive tracking, joint orientation control and access/handover coordination, cross-segment coordination and resource management, as well as deployment tradeoffs and practical implementation. Finally, an RA array prototype and two representative simulation studies are presented to illustrate the feasibility and potential performance gains of RA-enabled SAGINs.
CommentsThis work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication
