Multi-Functional STARS Beamforming for Joint Communication, Sensing, and Computation

Develop simultaneous transmission and reflection beamforming strategies for simultaneously transmitting and reflecting surfaces (STARS) that achieve optimal spatial multiplexing and interference management across multiple wireless functionalities—including communication, sensing, and computation—despite their divergent beam requirements.

Background

The survey emphasizes that NG wireless networks will integrate multiple functionalities beyond communication, such as sensing and computation. These functionalities impose differing and sometimes conflicting beamforming requirements (e.g., narrow beams with minimal leakage for communication versus wide beams for sensing echoes).

The authors explicitly formulate the challenge as achieving optimal spatial multiplexing and interference management among functionalities in STARS-aided systems, identifying it as a key open direction in beamforming design.