Full-Duplex Empowered ISAC System for Low-Altitude Economy: Conception, Design, and Prototype Verification

TY - JOUR

T1 - Full-Duplex Empowered ISAC System for Low-Altitude Economy

T2 - Conception, Design, and Prototype Verification

AU - Du, Changhao

AU - Rong, Yannan

AU - Yang, Xuanhe

AU - Ke, Sheng

AU - Song, Zhe

AU - Zhang, Xinyuan

AU - Zhang, Xueting

AU - Wang, Shuai

AU - Pan, Gaofeng

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2002-2012 IEEE.

PY - 2026/2

Y1 - 2026/2

N2 - This article establishes Full-Duplex Integrated Sensing and Communication (FD-ISAC) as a transformative framework conception for the low-altitude economy. We design a hierarchical system architecture coordinating aerial control centers, mobile platforms, and ground entities through co-designed waveforms, enabling simultaneous high-throughput communication and high-precision sensing. The system overcomes fundamental limitations of conventional half-duplex ISAC by eliminating time-division switching overhead and sensing blind zones. Key innovations include: 1) Dynamic waveform adaptation for Doppler-resilient operations in 3D environments, 2) Multi-stage interference cancellation achieving >120dB suppression, and 3) Superimposed waveform enhanced echo analysis in urban multipath scenarios. Extensive simulations and hardware prototypes verification demonstrate significant throughput gains and sub-meter ranging accuracy during high-speed mobility. We further identify critical challenges in volumetric interference management, airborne hardware integration, and cross-domain security, providing a research roadmap for next-generation aerial networks. The proposed framework unlocks new capabilities for urban air mobility, emergency response, and smart city infrastructure.

AB - This article establishes Full-Duplex Integrated Sensing and Communication (FD-ISAC) as a transformative framework conception for the low-altitude economy. We design a hierarchical system architecture coordinating aerial control centers, mobile platforms, and ground entities through co-designed waveforms, enabling simultaneous high-throughput communication and high-precision sensing. The system overcomes fundamental limitations of conventional half-duplex ISAC by eliminating time-division switching overhead and sensing blind zones. Key innovations include: 1) Dynamic waveform adaptation for Doppler-resilient operations in 3D environments, 2) Multi-stage interference cancellation achieving >120dB suppression, and 3) Superimposed waveform enhanced echo analysis in urban multipath scenarios. Extensive simulations and hardware prototypes verification demonstrate significant throughput gains and sub-meter ranging accuracy during high-speed mobility. We further identify critical challenges in volumetric interference management, airborne hardware integration, and cross-domain security, providing a research roadmap for next-generation aerial networks. The proposed framework unlocks new capabilities for urban air mobility, emergency response, and smart city infrastructure.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105026040957

U2 - 10.1109/MWC.2025.3631019

DO - 10.1109/MWC.2025.3631019

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105026040957

SN - 1536-1284

VL - 33

SP - 124

EP - 131

JO - IEEE Wireless Communications

JF - IEEE Wireless Communications

IS - 1

ER -