A Tutorial on Terahertz-Band Localization for 6G Communication Systems
Journal article, 2022

Terahertz (THz) communications are celebrated as key enablers for converged localization and sensing in future sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication systems and beyond. Instead of being a byproduct of the communication system, localization in 6G is indispensable for location-aware communications. Towards this end, we aim to identify the prospects, challenges, and requirements of THz localization techniques. We first review the history and trends of localization methods and discuss their objectives, constraints, and applications in contemporary communication systems. We then detail the latest advances in THz communications and introduce THz-specific channel and system models. Afterward, we formulate THz-band localization as a 3D position/orientation estimation problem, detailing geometry-based localization techniques and describing potential THz localization and sensing extensions. We further formulate the offline design and online optimization of THz localization systems, provide numerical simulation results, and conclude by providing lessons learned and future research directions. Preliminary results illustrate that under the same transmission power and array footprint, THz-based localization outperforms millimeter wave-based localization. In other words, the same level of localization performance can be achieved at THz-band with less transmission power or a smaller footprint.

AOSA

channel modeling

Terahertz

6G

CRB

RIS

localization

Author

Hui Chen

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks

Hadi Sarieddeen

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Tarig Ballal

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Henk Wymeersch

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks

Mohamed-Slim Alouini

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Tareq Y. Al-Naffouri

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials

1553877x (eISSN)

Vol. 24 3 1780-1815

A flagship for B5G/6G vision and intelligent fabric of technology enablers connecting human, physical, and digital worlds (Hexa-X )

European Commission (EC) (EC/2020/101015956), 2021-01-01 -- 2023-06-30.

European Commission (EC) (EC/HE/101120332), 2023-10-01 -- 2027-09-30.

Subject Categories

Computer Engineering

Communication Systems

Signal Processing

DOI

10.1109/COMST.2022.3178209

More information

Latest update

10/25/2023