ISAC Technology in Action: UAV-Based SAR Imaging Potential

This paper aims to showcase the potential of an Integrated Communication and Sensing (ISAC) system, operating within the sub-6 GHz frequency range, for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging through an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Our primary goal is to validate the system’s ability to generate SAR imagery under practical constraints dictated by contemporary communication standards, including factors like maximum transmitted power, carrier frequency, occupied bandwidth, Pulse Repetition Frequency, and the number of sub-carriers. The paper provides a detailed description of the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal transmitted by the base station. We compare two methods for range-compressing the signal backscattered by the scene and analyze the Noise Equivalent Sigma Zero (NESZ) under classical line-of-sight conditions and in challenging environments, demonstrating the system’s capability to detect targets under snow. It also showcases simulated Impulse Response Functions (IRF) under various assumptions, as well as real SAR images of the environment obtained using a UAV with a software-defined radar (SDR) integrated as a payload.