VINES: Track 2: AReS: Assessing, Restoring, and Supporting Post-Disaster Connectivity and Situational Awareness Through AI-Enabled ISAC and ISAC-AR Integration

Award ID: 2554552

Natural disasters often damage communication infrastructure precisely when reliable connectivity and situational awareness are most critical for emergency response and recovery. Emerging NextG wireless networks are evolving beyond communication-only systems into integrated platforms capable of communication, sensing, positioning, and real-time environmental awareness. This project seeks to advance resilient post-disaster wireless networks by developing artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technologies. The project aims to enable wireless infrastructure to rapidly assess damaged environments, restore connectivity, localize users and targets in degraded conditions, and provide real-time situational awareness for emergency responders. By improving the resilience and adaptability of future wireless systems, the project has the potential to strengthen public safety, reduce recovery time following disasters, and improve the reliability of critical communication services. The project will also contribute to workforce development through interdisciplinary student training spanning wireless networking, sensing, edge computing, and augmented reality systems, while fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and other stakeholders. The project will develop a cross-layer framework for AI-enabled ISAC-assisted disaster response. The work plan will investigate autonomous wireless digital twins for rapid network restoration and adaptive coverage optimization; synchronization-aware ISAC architectures for distributed sensing and positioning; and multi-static sensing techniques for localization and environmental awareness in cluttered or infrastructure-limited conditions. The project will further explore ISAC and Augmented Reality (AR) integration, along with mobile edge computing, to improve non-line-of-sight sensing for first responders operating under degraded visibility and connectivity conditions. AR is particularly valuable in disaster response because it complements the broad, lower-granularity environmental awareness provided by ISAC with high-resolution, local sensing from first responders headsets. The developed technologies will be integrated and evaluated through phased over-the-air demonstrations using Open Air Interface 5G platforms, distributed massive MIMO nodes, and edge-assisted AR systems, culminating in a large-scale end-to-end demonstration of resilient ISAC-enabled networking for disaster-response scenarios. The project will also engage with industry and standards stakeholders to support translation into operational NextG systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: SUDHARMAN KANKANAMGE JAYAWEERA