5G was expected to be the key driving force behind the shift of digitalization of all industries and a more intelligent, connected world in addition to the provision of much improved mobile broadband (MBB) internet user experience. However, ten years later it seems both industry digitalization transformation and MBB business are quite behind the schedule and expectation. For example, it is worth mentioning the whole MBB revenue of telecom industry in China has been declining since 2023. There would be no future of mobile communications if those deadly challenges were always put aside and could not be met effectively. Now 6G is on the way. Without exception, the newer generation of mobile communication has always been highly expected and 6G has been given the label of “enabler of connected intelligence”. It has been conceived with many attractive properties such as ultra-fast, extremely low latency, ubiquitous connectivity, network and edge sensing, along with inferencing capabilities and distributed learning. However, how to meet and tackle with the aforementioned unprecedented challenges still remained unclear. This talk explores challenges and opportunities of mobile communications at the moment, how 6G technology components combined with device and network API exposure, transform wireless networks from passive data conduits into active enablers of high value businesses (e.g. AI services). Meanwhile, the cutting edge technologies in the areas of AI communication, Satellite Communication, advanced Waveform&Modulation, Coding and Sequences are also deeply addressed in the context.

Wireless networks have become ubiquitous and are a basic pillar of modern society. Integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) present the opportunity to reuse this massive infrastructure for an entirely new purpose, with potentially huge societal advantages, and revenue opportunities for network operators. However, the unproven nature of ISAC technology presents technical challenges that need to be addressed by the wireless community. In this talk we explore such challenges and describe potential solutions facilitated by the recent onslaught of new technologies, namely virtualized RAN, AI, and the availability of NVIDIA GPUs for accelerated computing. We will review standardization progress for ISAC in 6G, AI-based solutions for reliable, accurate and efficient multi-modal fusion, and functional architectures for ISAC-capable wireless networks. Finally, we will present NVIDIA’s open source reference design for ISAC.

The lecture focuses on the development of modern radar systems in the background of Alfonso Farina’s carrier and technical achievements. Target tracking systems, Multistatic architectures, adaptivity, cognitive radar, green radar, waveform diversity and design, electromagnetic spectrum management, space-time adaptive processing (STAP), synthetic aperture radars (SAR) are among the most important modern applications which will be reviewed, highlighting the profound transformation driven by the convergence of advanced signal processing, high performance computing, and increasingly complex operational scenarios. Contemporary radars are expected to deliver unprecedented levels of accuracy, resilience, and spectral efficiency, not without significant challenges, such as the progressively congested e.m. spectrum, the demand for low-cost, low-power and highly integrated platforms, from automotive radars to spaceborne constellations, pushes technology toward new materials, digital front ends, and AI driven processing pipelines. In this personal viewpoint, the envisaged future of radar lies in embracing heterogeneity, of sensors, processing layers and mission profiles, in a perspective that invites a shift from radar as a standalone instrument to radar as an adaptive, collaborative node within a broader sensing ecosystem.