Waveform Design for Vital Signs Detection in Integrated Sensing and Communication System

The integration of sensing and communication functions in one platform has become a pivotal use case in future communication systems. This research investigated the optimal integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) waveforms for the purpose of vital signs detection. In order to incorporate both functions in the system and make it favorable for sensing the micro-doppler effect associated with vital signs, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and phase-coded frequency modulated continuous wave (PC-FMCW) signals were adopted and compared, and the performances were evaluated against the system based on the classic frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW). Several phase coded FMCW signals have been investigated and the simulated results indicated that the Frank-coded PC-FMCW waveform exhibited an optimal performance for vital signs detection in a line-of-sight setting. The work is beneficial for search and rescue applications where high-performance sensing such as vital signs detection and limited communication capability is required.