Cramér-Rao Bound Optimization for Joint Beamforming and Mode Selection in RDARS-Assisted ISAC Systems

Abstract

Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) is a foundation of 6G networks, demanding architectures that simultaneously enhance sensing accuracy and communication reliability. This paper presents a Reconfigurable Distributed Antenna and Reflecting Surface (RDARS) aided ISAC framework, where an RDARS overcomes the limitations of conventional passive Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). By enabling each element to dynamically operate in either \textit{reflection} or \textit{connection} mode, RDARS synergistically harnesses reflection gain, distribution gain, and an additional mode-selection gain. We investigate the joint optimization of transmit beamforming at the base station and dynamic mode selection at the RDARS to minimize the sensing performance metric, namely the Cramér-Rao Bound (CRB) for target localization, while guaranteeing a minimum required Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) for multiple communication users. To solve the resulting non-convex and mixed-integer problem, we develop an efficient iterative algorithm based on the Alternating Optimization (AO) framework, effectively leveraging Majorization-Minimization (MM) and Penalty methods. Comprehensive simulations validate the proposed design, demonstrating that the dynamic RDARS configuration achieves a superior trade-off between the Position Error Bound (PEB) and communication SINR, significantly outperforming benchmark passive RIS and DAS systems.