Coding for Sensing: An Improved Scheme for Integrated Sensing and Communication over MACs

Abstract: A memoryless state-dependent multiple-access channel (MAC) is considered, where two transmitters wish to convey their messages to a single receiver while simultaneously sensing (estimating) the respective states via generalized feedbacks. For this channel, an improved inner bound is provided on the fundamental rate-distortions tradeoff which characterizes the communication rates the transmitters can achieve while simultaneously ensuring that their state-estimates satisfy desired distortion criteria. The new inner bound is based on a scheme where each transmitter codes over the generalized feedback so as to improve the state estimation at the other transmitter. This is in contrast to the schemes proposed for point-to-point and broadcast channels where coding is used only for the transmission of messages and the optimal estimators operate on a symbol-by-symbol basis on the sequences of channel inputs and feedback outputs.