SPS ISAC-TWG Webinar: Sensing with Random Communication Signals
Date: 08-August-2025
Time: 08:00 AM ET (New York Time)
Presenter: Dr. Fan Liu
About this topic:
The Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) paradigm is anticipated to be a cornerstone of the upcoming 6G networks. In order to optimize the use of wireless resources, 6G ISAC systems need to harness the communication data payload signals, which are inherently random, for both sensing and communication (S&C) purposes. This talk will provide a comprehensive technical overview of the signal processing methodologies for ISAC transmission with random communication signals. The presenter begins by introducing the deterministic-random tradeoff (DRT) between S&C from an information-theoretic perspective, emphasizing the need for specialized signal processing techniques tailored to random ISAC signals. Building on this foundation, he will review the core signal models and processing pipelines for communication-centric ISAC systems, and analyze the average squared auto-correlation function (ACF) of random ISAC signals, which serves as a fundamental performance metric for multi-target ranging tasks. Drawing insights from these theoretical results, he outlines the design principles for the three key components of communication-centric ISAC systems: modulation schemes, constellation design, and pulse shaping filters. The goal is to either enhance sensing performance without compromising communication efficiency or to establish a scalable tradeoff between the two. Finally, he will conclude by highlighting several open challenges and future research directions in the field of sensing with communication signals.
About the presenter:
Fan Liu received the B.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), Beijing, China, in 2013 and 2018, respectively.
He is currently a Professor with the National Mobile Communications Research Laboratory, School of Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor with the Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China, from 2020 to 2024. He has previously held academic positions in the University College London (UCL), London, UK, as a Visiting Researcher from 2016 to 2018, and a Marie Curie Research Fellow from 2018 to 2020. Prof. Liu's research interests lie in the general area of signal processing and wireless communications, and in particular in the area of Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC).
Dr. Liu is the founding Academic Chair of the IEEE ComSoc ISAC Emerging Technology Initiative (ISAC-ETI), Vice Chair and founding member of the IEEE SPS ISAC Technical Working Group (ISAC-TWG), an elected member of the IEEE SPS Sensor Array and Multichannel Technical Committee (SAM-TC), an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Communications Letters (2020-2024), and IEEE Open Journal of Signal Processing, and a Guest Editor of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Wireless Communications, and IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine. He was a TPC Co-Chair of the 2nd-4th IEEE Joint Communication and Sensing (JC&S) Symposium, a Symposium Co-Chair for IEEE GLOBECOM 2023, and a Track Co-Chair for the IEEE WCNC 2024. He is a member of the IMT-2030 (6G) ISAC Task Group. He was listed among the World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University for citation impact from 2021 to 2024, and among the 2023-2024 Elsevier Highly-Cited Chinese Researchers. He was a recipient of numerous Best Paper Awards, including the 2024 IEEE SPS Best Paper Award, 2024 IEEE SPS Donald G. Fink Overview Paper Award, 2024 IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Outstanding Paper Award, 2023 IEEE Communications Society Stephan O. Rice Prize, and 2021 IEEE SPS Young Author Best Paper Award. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.
