MIRAGE · Multiband Imaging via fRAGmented communication spectrum Exploitation

Future 6G and Wi-Fi networks will not only connect devices but also perceive their surroundings, a paradigm known as Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC). While current ISAC research focuses on target detection and parameter estimation, MIRAGE pioneers a novel direction: enabling high-resolution imaging using existing cellular infrastructure and random communication signals, fully exploiting their native multiband capabilities. This requires moving beyond the existing synthetic aperture radar concept, tackling the research challenges posed by the high fractional bandwidth of future 6G systems and their fragmented bandwidth availability. MIRAGE turns these challenges into a powerful means of increasing imaging resolution and information content through advanced multiband signal processing. MIRAGE will empower ISAC systems to generate complex reflectivity maps of the environment and complex targets, offering detailed insights into object shape, material, and motion, and opening doors to impactful applications in healthcare, structural monitoring, and climate resilience.The project will tackle three challenges: (i) defining joint communication-imaging metrics and performance limits under fragmented multiband conditions; (ii) designing new ISAC waveforms and precoding strategies tailored for coherent imaging; and (iii) developing robust learning-based receiver algorithms capable of synchronizing and fusing non-contiguous frequency bands with high fractional bandwidth. By fusing methodologies from radar, communications, and deep learning, MIRAGE will create a new imaging paradigm for ISAC, advancing EU leadership in 6G technologies. Hosted at University College London under Prof. Christos Masouros, and featuring a secondment at IMDEA Networks in Madrid, with Prof. Joerg Widmer, for experimental activities, the project will the fellow in advanced ISAC theory and experimental techniques, establishing them as a pioneer in future perceptive communication networks.