For decades, we have improved networks to make them faster, more stable and capable of connecting more devices. Each mobile generation has improved efficiency, increasing capacity and speed, but always with the same goal: to transport information. 6G breaks that logic.
For the first time, the network is not limited to communicating what happens between people, machines or systems, but begins to understand what is happening around it. It detects movements, interprets spaces and reacts to the physical environment in real time. This is not science fiction: it is one of the great promises of 6G and is called ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication).
Until now, mobile networks have been like a motorway: they transport information from one point to another. With ISAC, that same infrastructure is also used to detect and measure what is happening in the environment. The radio signals that are already being transmitted for communication can also be used to:
- Detect nearby objects.
- Measure distances and speeds.
- Identify movements.
- Recognise patterns in space.
This is similar to how radar works, but integrated directly into the mobile network. Instead of having separate systems (one for communication and one for detection), 6G proposes a single system that does both at the same time.
With ISAC, the network adds something new: awareness of the physical environment. The network now has the ability to perceive space, objects and movements. This opens the door to completely new services, because the network no longer just connects devices, it understands what is happening around them.
For this to work efficiently, one of the key points of ISAC is integration. Today, we tend to deploy different systems: radars, cameras, sensors… and, on the other hand, networks to transmit data. With ISAC, the structure of the systems can be simplified.
Use cases
ISAC has very practical applications in many sectors.
Transport and mobility
- Detection of pedestrians and obstacles even without cameras.
- Better coordination between vehicles and traffic lights
- Support for autonomous driving in low visibility situations.
Health and care
- Monitoring of elderly people without the need to wear sensors.
- Detection of falls.
- Monitoring of breathing or movement in hospitals.
Industry and logistics
- Control of robots and machinery with ultra-precise positioning.
- Detection of people in hazardous areas.
- Optimisation of goods movement in warehouses.
Smart cities
- Measurement of attendance at events.
- Incident detection in public spaces.
- More efficient energy and resource management.
The first use cases that are being standardised, and which are expected to be implemented first, are related to drones and security applications: detection of objects (such as drones or birds) in restricted airspace, for example at airports, as well as detection of vessels in port environments.
What about privacy?
When we talk about networks that ‘feel,’ it is normal for the question to arise: does this mean that the network is watching us?
Here is an important nuance: ISAC does not function like a camera that records images. In many cases, it is based on signal patterns, not personal visual data. Even so, the design of 6G is incorporating privacy principles from the outset, local processing (so as not to send unnecessary sensitive data) and new techniques for anonymising data.
As with any emerging technology, regulation and responsible use will be as important as technical innovation.
Why do we have to wait for 6G?
Although some of this is already beginning to be explored with 5G, the true potential of ISAC requires capabilities that will come with 6G:
- Higher frequencies, which allow for more accurate measurement.
- Extremely low latencies (even lower than in 5G), for near real-time reaction.
- Distributed processing with artificial intelligence, directly on the network.
This will allow the network not only to collect information, but also to interpret it and act intelligently.
ISAC represents a profound change in how we conceive of mobile networks. They will no longer be just invisible highways on which our data travels, but systems that interact with the physical environment.
6G will not only connect people and devices, with ISAC it will also connect the network to the real world.
