Swarm Repeater-Assisted MIMO ISAC Enables Enhanced Drone Detection in Cellular Systems

The increasing prevalence of drones presents a growing need for reliable detection systems, and researchers are now exploring how to integrate sensing and communication technologies to address this challenge. Palatip Jopanya and Diana P. M. Osorio, from Linköping University, investigate a novel approach that utilises swarms of repeaters to enhance radar sensing capabilities within a massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) integrated sensing and communication system. This work demonstrates that strategically deploying these repeaters, which instantaneously retransmit signals, significantly improves drone detection performance, offering a cost-effective method for densifying cellular networks and bolstering radar sensing. By optimising repeater gains and increasing their numbers, the team achieves measurable gains in sensing accuracy, paving the way for more robust and efficient drone surveillance systems.

Drone Detection via Repeater-Assisted MIMO ISAC

This research investigates drone detection using a sophisticated system that combines multiple antennas with integrated sensing and communication capabilities, enhanced by a network of strategically placed repeaters. The system addresses the challenge of detecting drones in areas where direct communication or sensing is difficult, such as locations with weak signal coverage or obstructed views. Researchers successfully demonstrate that by amplifying signals with a network of repeaters, they can significantly improve the system’s ability to detect drones while simultaneously maintaining communication with a user. The system employs a monostatic radar setup, simplifying signal processing by knowing the drone’s angle of arrival.

Optimizing the amplification gain of each repeater maximizes the sensing signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio for accurate drone detection. Simulations reveal that increasing the number of repeaters generally improves sensing performance, although benefits diminish beyond a certain point. The optimal repeater configuration depends on the environment and the drone’s location, with repeaters proving particularly beneficial when the drone is far from the access point. This research demonstrates the potential of combining multiple-input multiple-output technology with integrated sensing and communication, offering a promising approach to enhance drone detection capabilities. The team validated their findings through simulations, establishing a framework for optimizing repeater amplification gain to maximize sensing performance. This work has significant implications for drone security, surveillance, search and rescue operations, and the development of smart city infrastructure, paving the way for real-time situational awareness in complex environments.

Repeater Gain Optimisation for Drone Detection

Researchers have developed a method for improving drone detection using a network of repeaters integrated with a massive multiple-input multiple-output system. This system simultaneously supports user communication and detects drones, even in areas with weak signal coverage. The team engineered a system where the location of the drone is known, allowing them to focus on optimizing the amplification gain of each repeater to maximize the sensing signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, ensuring accurate drone detection while maintaining reliable communication with a user. To achieve this, the team developed an algorithm that iteratively adjusts the repeater amplification gain until the optimal setting is reached.

Simulations demonstrate that increasing the number of repeaters and their amplification gain improves detection performance, with a twofold increase in either parameter yielding comparable gains. However, beyond a certain amplification level, adding more repeaters provides diminishing returns, as the algorithm intelligently selects only the most effective repeaters based on the environment. This work establishes a clear pathway for enhancing drone detection capabilities in dense urban environments through intelligent repeater deployment and optimized amplification gain control. The results confirm the potential of this approach to provide robust and reliable drone detection, even in challenging conditions. This research contributes to the growing field of integrated sensing and communication, offering a practical solution for improving situational awareness in complex environments.

Repeater Swarms Enhance Drone Detection Performance

Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in drone detection by utilizing a swarm of repeaters integrated with massive multiple-input multiple-output communication systems. This innovative approach enhances radar sensing capabilities by strategically deploying repeaters to assist in detecting drones, even in areas with weak signal coverage. The core of this achievement lies in optimizing the amplification gain of each repeater to maximize the sensing signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio for drone detection while simultaneously maintaining user communication quality. Experiments reveal that the system’s performance is significantly impacted by the maximum amplification gain.

In strong sensing channels, all repeaters operate at full amplification, while in weak sensing channels, repeaters selectively activate at full gain. Data shows that the sensing signal-to-noise ratio increases and then saturates as the number of repeaters increases. Importantly, researchers found that with a very high amplification level, sensing performance is comparable regardless of the number of repeaters. Receiver operating characteristic curves demonstrate that detection performance improves in all cases when repeaters are employed, with a greater improvement observed with a higher number of repeaters and increased amplification. Specifically, a twofold increase in amplification or the number of repeaters yields comparable improvements in detection performance. These results confirm the potential of this repeater-assisted system to provide robust and reliable drone detection capabilities, even in challenging environments, successfully combining communication and sensing functionalities, paving the way for more intelligent and integrated wireless networks.

Repeater Swarms Enhance Drone Detection Performance

Scientists have investigated the potential of employing swarms of repeaters to enhance drone detection capabilities within integrated sensing and communication systems. By optimizing the amplification gain of these repeaters, they demonstrated improved sensing performance in a system where the sensing device and target are co-located. Results indicate that increasing the number of repeaters, alongside sufficient amplification, significantly boosts the system’s ability to detect drones, even in areas with weak signal coverage. The study focused on a scenario where a cellular access point simultaneously serves a user and senses a drone, highlighting a practical application of integrated sensing and communication technology. While very high amplification gains yielded comparable sensing performance regardless of the number of repeaters, a moderate but sufficient amplification level combined with an increased number of repeaters proved most effective for enhancing detection. This work contributes to the growing field of integrated sensing and communication, demonstrating a pathway to improve sensing capabilities in future wireless networks.