A technology called Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) has potential ramifications so great that it is generating excitement a decade ahead of likely deployments, according to ABI Research.
ISAC, which ABI describes as turning mobile networks into radars that sense moving objects in their vicinity, is expected to be part of 6G. An initiative ABI characterizes as “massive” is underway to understand ISAC’s implications, requirements, and technical details. The effort is being pursued in standards bodies, vendor R&D labs, and academia, the analysts say.
ABI Research is clearly onboard with the idea that ISAC’s impact is potentially very large. It is “a revolutionary innovation poised to transform the future of 6G networks” that can deliver use cases for enterprise verticals “that the industry cannot yet conceive,” ABI says.
“ISAC can completely redefine the deployment purpose of cellular networks and repurpose its use toward detecting objects,” Dimitris Mavrakis, ABI Research’s Senior Research Director, said in a press release.
“Imagine a cellular network being capable of detecting victims of natural disasters and alerting first responders, or a home network being able to monitor health vital statistics completely passively. This could revolutionize the network market and many other industries, including healthcare, transportation, automotive, and logistics.”
The press release says that ISAC likely will be deployed after 2033 or 2034 due to the development work necessary to make it a reality.
Indeed, the “to do” list is almost as impressive as ISAC’s potential uses. ABI Research’s “Integrated Communications and Sensing: A Major 6G Innovation” report says that the breakthroughs must be made in areas such as waveforms, hardware design, AI algorithms, and application designs.
China, working with ZTE, has deployed a pre-standard ISAC system for commercial use in Shenzhen. Mavrakis says that, despite the fact that ISAC is far from a reality, “fragments” of its technologies are in the market today.