Verizon and Samsung trial AI-native ISAC sensing on vRAN

Operating live base stations over commercial radio spectrum, field engineers from Verizon and Samsung have demonstrated AI-native ISAC sensing across vRAN without deploying dedicated cameras or radar hardware.

The trial, conducted at a major international soccer celebration in Dallas, Texas, verified how software-driven radio infrastructure detects physical movement and crowd densities by treating ambient wireless transmissions as a sensory grid.

The demonstration arrives alongside an expansion of the Verizon 6G Innovation Forum, where nine technology partners – Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Intel, Keysight Technologies, MediaTek, NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks, Rohde & Schwarz, and VIAVI Solutions – joined founding members Ericsson, Nokia, Meta, Qualcomm Technologies, and Samsung. The consortium seeks to align edge-compute intelligence and radio architectures ahead of formal 3GPP standards discussions.

Yago Tenorio, CTO and SVP of Technology Development at Verizon, said: “By expanding our Innovation Forum and refining live edge AI trials today, we are ensuring the AI-native 6G network is built from day one to scale 5G Advanced capabilities and translate these next-generation technologies into meaningful, real-world experiences for our customers.

“With 6G, our collaborative objective is fundamentally bottom-up and use-case-driven. We are designing the next generation of connectivity with a specific target already in mind: enabling and scaling AI workloads and the massive AI ecosystem—particularly the emerging class of AI-enabled wearables like untethered smart glasses, as well as pioneering Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technologies.”

ISAC trial on Samsung vRAN: Crowd sensing without cameras

To stage the Dallas trial, engineering teams integrated commercial AI-powered virtualised Radio Access Network (vRAN) software and a virtual core with an Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) application. The workload ran entirely on Samsung’s Network in a Server platform, an appliance consolidating all radio network functions and accelerated compute into one physical unit.

Transmissions from six localised Samsung Galaxy smartphones provided the raw radio data. A 40MHz block of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum, paired with a radio unit mounted on a Verizon Cell-On-Wheels, tracked channel variations across the event space.

Processors inside the edge server converted these environmental signal interruptions into real-time heatmaps displayed on commercial tablets and mobile handsets. This configuration allowed venue operators to track foot traffic, manage entry gates, and identify crowd bottlenecks without installing supplementary optical equipment.

Charlie Zhang, Executive VP at Samsung Research America, commented: “This ISAC trial marks a significant leap forward in integrating AI-driven sensing capabilities into network infrastructure, showcasing the transformative potential of 6G technologies.

“By combining Verizon’s innovative approach with Samsung’s advanced vRAN solutions, we’ve demonstrated the practical application of ISAC in a real-world scenario to enhance safety, efficiency, and user experience. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in next-generation wireless networks.”

A concurrent trial conducted at Qualcomm’s San Diego facility demonstrated multi-function autonomous tracking in higher spectrum bands.

Using 100 to 400MHz of millimeter-wave spectrum distributed across four synchronised Transmission and Reception Points, technical teams tracked the coordinates and velocity of a flying drone and ground vehicles. Throughout the test, the radio cluster sustained simultaneous, uninterrupted high-speed 5G Standalone data traffic to a ground mobile user.

Wearables, mmWave tracking, and the LA 2028 6G proving ground

Software developers are pairing these sensing layers with client-side devices to examine how autonomous networks process bidirectional traffic.

In a stadium prototype trial, engineers linked Meta AI smart glasses to the Verizon Edge Network. Using an on-site NVIDIA DGX Spark unit running a locally tuned Small Language Model, the system ingested sports telemetry from SportsDataIO, delivering spoken game statistics and predictive analytics to users through audio prompts without requiring a smartphone interface.

Network architects expect untethered smart glasses and environmental sensors to generate symmetrical uplink and downlink burdens, demanding edge compute nodes capable of executing automated telemetry tasks close to radio access points.

Field teams will advance these distributed configurations through the operator’s dedicated 6G Lab in Los Angeles, which will act as a primary proving ground during the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

Ji-Yun Seol, Executive VP and Head of Product Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, said: “This successful ISAC trial underscores how Verizon’s decision to adopt a software-driven, AI-powered vRAN early on laid a solid foundation, positioning the company at the forefront of the 6G journey.

“With this approach, forward-thinking operators like Verizon are unlocking untapped potential, spearheading the shift toward a new era where unprecedented services, devices, and use cases converge on next-generation networks.”

See also: Autonomous networks bring new AI OpEx costs for telcos

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