THz ISAC for 6G drone networks: adaptive beam scanning and communication rate optimization

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/BALKANCOM65827.2025.11186028

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) will play a crucial role in future 6G non-terrestrial networks, where sensing and communication will work in synergy. This paper introduces a Terahertz ISAC approach for 6G drone networks, utilizing a radar system to facilitate beam alignment and improve data rates. Given the high computational complexity of an existing rate maximization method via a joint optimization approach, we propose a step-by-step optimization approach as a computationally efficient alternative, achieving comparable results. Our numerical results, validated with simulated and real drone traces, show that both approaches achieve similar performance while the proposed step-by-step approach significantly reduces computational complexity in proportion to frame duration, making it particularly well-suited for energy-constrained ISAC in drones.