Vortex Wavefront FMCW ISAC Model: A Blender-Based Evaluation

Integrated sensing and Communication (ISAC) systems are key enablers for 6G networks, offering promising applications in indoor scenarios, such as high-accuracy localization, tracking, imaging, augmented senses, and gesture recognition. In this paper, we propose a radar-centric ISAC model based on frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) waveform, where a unified circular array (UCA) is employed to generate the vortex electromagnetic (EM) waves with the helical wavefront. Benefiting from the additional angular diversity provided by this wavefront, the proposed model can achieve a high-resolution angle estimation and avoid performance ambiguities due to multiple-inputs and multiple-outputs (MIMO) multiplexing. For validation, a Blender-based ray tracing simulator is utilized to acquire realistic channel data of indoor environments. Comparisons of the proposed ISAC model and the conventional FMCW MIMO radar are given under the indoor scenario. Our evaluation accounts for multiple target estimations and illustrates a trade-off between radar properties and communication spectral efficiency. This analysis provides valuable insights for optimizing ISAC systems in future 6G networks.