Architecture

System architecture from BS to UE

Focused on how OpenISAC is organized at the system level: hardware roles, BS/UE runtime pipelines, and the split between communication and sensing tasks.

Back to Home

System Architecture

The OpenISAC testbed comprises a Base Station (BS) and a User Equipment (UE), each built around a Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) synchronized by an oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO).

System Architecture Diagram
Fig. 1. System architecture of OpenISAC.

BS Node: A host PC connects to the USRP over USB/Ethernet, generates the ISAC baseband waveform, and streams this to the USRP. The USRP transmits the signal and captures the radar echoes on a separate receive antenna.

UE Node: A host PC interfaces with the USRP to acquire the downlink signal. It uses an OCXO for synchronization, optionally disciplined via a DAC to minimize carrier/sampling offsets for bistatic sensing.

Software Architecture of BS

The BS software is a multi-threaded pipeline that decouples I/O and computation using ring-buffer FIFOs.

BS Software Diagram
Fig. 2. Software architecture of BS.
  • Bit Processing: Handles UDP payloads, LDPC encoding, and scrambling.
  • OFDM Modulator: Performs QPSK mapping, pilot insertion, IFFT, and CP insertion. Pads frames with random bits if traffic is low.
  • Radio I/O: "USRP-TX" sends waveforms; "USRP-RX" captures radar streams.
  • Sensing Thread: Performs real-time monostatic sensing (OFDM demod, division, Range-Doppler map). Supports "stride" processing to balance load.

Software Architecture of UE

The UE is also a multi-threaded pipeline designed for robust synchronization and reception.

UE Software Diagram
Fig. 3. Software architecture of UE.
  • USRP RX: Acquires downlink baseband stream and performs timing adjustments.
  • OFDM Demodulator: Operates in two states:
    • SYNC_SEARCH: Scans for ZC sync symbols to estimate frame boundary and CFO.
    • NORMAL: Performs FFT, channel estimation, equalization, and LLR computation. Re-enters search if lock is lost.
  • Sensing Thread: Performs real-time bistatic sensing using {RX, TX} symbol pairs.
  • Bit Processing: Descrambles and LDPC decodes to recover the UDP payload.