NextG UAV Detection Using an O-RAN-Controlled Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS)

Group

Overview

A RIS- and O-RAN–assisted Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) framework is presented for high-speed UAV detection and tracking in the 3.7 GHz band. The system integrates composite OFDM–FMCW waveforms, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and O-RAN distributed intelligence to enable scalable, low-latency, and adaptive sensing under spectrum-sharing constraints.

System Architecture

• Operation in the CBRS band (3.7 GHz) balances coverage and sensing resolution

• RIS enhances signal observability and mitigates LoS limitations

• O-RAN provides distributed intelligence through Near-RT and Non-RT RICs

• ISAC enables spectrum and infrastructure sharing between sensing and communication

Project Plan

• AFRL Individual Team Meeting Presenation [Oct. 21, 2025 1pm EST]

Task Assignment

• Team 1 (Saurabh, Lenny, Karen, and Shaun)
  Waveform Design and Implementation.

• Team 2 (Chengyi, Parkar, Lenny, Shaun, and Karen)
  Configure RIS (read TMYTEK spec., programming interfaces, ...)

• Team 3 (Chengyi and Parkar)
  ISAC algorithms

• Team 4 (Lenny, Shaun, and Karen)
  O-RAN (Figure out how to install O-RAN on a computer, how to interact with RIS and USRP, ...)

Data Management

• WINGS Lab at UHM GitHub