Delay-Doppler Domain Communications and Radar Sensing

Next-generation wireless networks are envisioned to provide high data rate and reliability with accurate sensing capability. To achieve this, new breakthrough in wireless technology is a must. Conventional wireless technologies are designed in the time-frequency (TF) domain, where the channel response could experience significant fluctuations, and the key radar parameters, e.g., delay and Doppler, are not explicitly represented. Consequently, TF domain communications generally require frequent channel estimation and large signalling overhead, and the communication waveforms need sophisticated adaptions to cater to radar sensing. Recent advances in delay-Doppler (DD) domain signal processing have opened the door for wireless communications and radar sensing in the DD domain. Leveraging the distinct channel features, DD domain communications do not require frequent channel estimation. Moreover, linear delay and Doppler estimation could be possible in the DD domain, thanks to the explicit representations of delay and Doppler. The goal of DDComRad is to fully unleash the potential of communications and radar sensing in the DD domain by developing novel techniques for 1) DD domain multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmissions; 2) DD domain integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) designs; 3) DD domain pulse shaping and realization. The main research approaches that will be employed include the advanced DD domain signal processing tool, e.g., Zak transform, information-theoretical analysis, and machine learning. The research outputs will have a significant impact on the applicant’s career prospects enabling him to obtain a leadership position in academia or industry. More importantly, the proposed research will not only secure the leadership of the European Union (EU) in the 6G competition, but also contribute to the economic future of the EU, especially for the development of novel applications, such as intelligent transportation and telemedicine.