- ISAC allows smartphones to detect unconnected objects without disrupting connectivity services
- Echo-based pulses let cellular networks visualize their surroundings, like bats in the dark
- ISAC experiments have successfully detected people and objects without interfering with cellular functions
Integrated Sensing and Communication, or ISAC, is a technology that converts ordinary smartphones into radar-like sensors capable of detecting unconnected objects in real time.
Vodafone and Tiami Networks are testing ISAC to investigate how smartphones can alert people to nearby dangers.
The pair are also investigating their potential to monitor crowded areas, detect intruders and support tasks in industrial and environmental settings.
Vodafone and Tiami test ISAC
The new system relies on echo-based pulses, similar to the echolocation that bats use to navigate in dark environments, enabling mobile networks to visualize their surroundings without additional hardware.
Users could theoretically receive alerts about crowded spaces, nearby hazards, or other dangerous situations just through their devices, and industries and public facilities could monitor intruders, unauthorized drones, or environmental hazards.
ISAC could track natural disasters and monitor livestock and provide real-time insights into areas that are difficult to observe directly, and could also create 3D maps using smart glasses, detect contaminated food and help robots understand human hand gestures.
Although ISAC is expected to play a central role in future 6G networks, which may start operating around 2030, the technology can operate over existing 5G infrastructure.
Vodafone and Tiami Networks conducted trials at Vodafone’s Málaga R&D facility in Spain, using Tiami’s PolyRAN software to transform base stations into wide-area sensors.
“Our vision for PolyRAN is simple. Deploying ISAC should be as seamless as enabling a software application in a 5G network without disrupting existing connectivity services,” said Amitav Mukherjee, CEO and founder of Tiami Networks.
“Testing with Vodafone allows us to evaluate realistic performance and deployment paths with a leading operator deeply committed to 6G research.”
During these trials, unconnected objects and even people were detected across a live 5G network without causing any disruption to voice calls, messages or internet usage.
This means that ISAC’s adoption does not require a complete network overhaul, making the technology more immediately usable.
The trials also investigated interoperability between different vendors’ hardware and software through Open RAN-compatible antennas.
This flexibility allows mobile networks to integrate new sensing capabilities through software updates instead of expensive equipment replacements.
By transforming base stations into intelligent edge computing platforms, operators can perform advanced environmental sensing alongside traditional connectivity services.
In addition to industrial or urban surveillance, ISAC can affect personal safety and everyday convenience.
Business phones can alert users to dangerous conditions in crowded transport hubs or to hidden maintenance problems, such as burst pipes, in buildings.
“Our 6G-ready test shows that your phone will soon be able to do much more than connect you. It can be used to help keep you safe wherever you go,” said Marco Zangani, director of network strategy and architecture, Vodafone.
The technology could also support privacy-conscious public applications, such as counting visitors in a shopping mall without relying on cameras.
While the full scope of ISAC still needs to be proven, initial trials indicate that it is technically possible to turn ordinary smartphones into active environmental sensors.
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