Pinching Antennas for ISAC: Waveguide Architectures, Solutions, and Future Directions
Qian Gao, Ruikang Zhong
Abstract
Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is a core design principle for sixth-generation (6G) wireless systems, yet fixed antenna geometry limits its performance. Pinching antenna systems (PASS) guide electromagnetic waves along dielectric waveguides and radiate them through position-adaptive antennas, allowing communication links and sensing observations to benefit from spatial reconfiguration. This article reviews PASS-enabled ISAC through single-waveguide, multi-waveguide, and segmented-waveguide architectures, comparing their feed structures, spatial degrees of freedom, operating protocols, and uplink/downlink support. We organize solution pathways around physics-consistent modeling, joint spatial-signal optimization, dynamic channel acquisition, and stable real-time control. A segmented waveguide-enabled pinching-antenna array (SWAN) case study demonstrates joint segment selection, antenna po?sitioning, and transmit beamforming using segment-hysteresis reinforcement learning. The results illustrate how waveguide loss and per-segment aperture gain create communication-sensing tradeoffs. We conclude with research directions in joint transmit?receive operation, measurement-calibrated digital twins, and trustworthy control.