Multimodal Heterogeneous Data Sensing and Communication Integration for CIoT

With the evolution of the 5th generation (5G) and the advent of the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication technologies, the consumer Internet of Things (CIoT) has emerged as a critical enabler for ubiquitous information exchange across diverse applications. The integration of sensing and communication (ISAC) offers significant potential to enhance communication performance by leveraging multimodal heterogeneous data collected through sensors in CIoT systems. This paper presents a comprehensive discussion on multimodal heterogeneous data-based environment sensing and its integration with communication in CIoT systems. We provide an overview of multimodal ISAC in CIoT, addressing the need for advanced environment understanding and optimization of network performance. Furthermore, we introduce a novel ISAC framework that integrates semantic environmental mapping, beam management, and resource allocation to improve communication efficiency. The concept of a semantic environment map (SEM) is proposed, which fuses multimodal sensing data for precise environment recognition and adaptive communication strategies. Additionally, we identify key future trends and challenges, including performance evaluation, multimodal data transmission, and security, and then propose a roadmap for future research. This paper aims to bridge the gap between multimodal sensing and communication in CIoT systems, offering insights into integrating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 6G for smarter, more connected consumer applications.