Integrated Sensing and Communication: Research Advances and Industry Outlook

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is an emerging technology that can enable future wireless communication networks to also provide wireless sensing services, thus enabling smart cities, homes, and factories that will transform the businesses and societies of the future. In this article, an overview of ISAC is presented, considering the ongoing standardization and research activities while emphasizing the industrial outlook. First, we provide a brief introduction to ISAC fundamentals, including the sensing configurations used in classical radar-like sensing. This is complemented by a description of the major use cases of ISAC, appreciating the interplay between ISAC and emerging technologies such as digital twins and artificial intelligence. To facilitate a smooth integration of sensing into the cellular ecosystem, the key design considerations for the physical layer and spectrum aspects are outlined. Furthermore, the key technology gaps and challenges in integrating sensing functionalities into current wireless communication networks are identified. Finally, we dive deeper into some innovative research directions for ISAC—such as novel antenna design, sensing-aware beam manipulation, waveform design, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, wavefront engineering, and near-field communications—while highlighting their relevance for future wireless networks.