Cell-free Integrated Sensing and Communication
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Cell-free (CF) integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) merges the CF architecture with ISAC functionalities. CF-ISAC leverages distributed access points, removes cell boundaries, and enhances coverage, spectral efficiency, and reliability. It also improves energy efficiency, enabling robust multi-user communication, distributed multi-static sensing, and seamless resource optimization. A comprehensive survey on CF-ISAC has been lacking. This monograph addresses that gap by covering the foundational principles, cooperative transmission, radar cross-section, target parameter estimation, ISAC integration levels, sensing metrics, and key applications. It also explores the advantages of multi-static sensing. Performance analysis, resource allocation, security, and user/ target-centric designs are discussed. Finally, synchronization, multi-target detection, interference management, and fron-thaul limitations are discussed. Advanced antenna technologies, network-assisted systems, near-field CF-ISAC, cross-technology integration, and machine learning approaches are presented. Diluka Galappaththige and Chintha Tellambura (2025), “Cell-free Integrated Sensing and Communication”, Foundations and Trends® in Networking: Vol. 16, No. 1-2, pp 1-170. DOI: 10.1561/1300000079. ©2025 D. Galappaththige and C. Tellambura
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.002 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".