| Internet-Draft | Agentic AI with network optimization | November 2026 |
| Bernardos, et al. | Expires 6 May 2027 | [Page] |
Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) represents a paradigm shift in wireless networks, where sensing and communication functions are jointly designed and optimized. By leveraging the same spectral and hardware resources, ISAC enables advanced capabilities such as environment perception, object tracking, and situational awareness, while maintaining efficient and reliable data transmission. There are sensing scenarios and use cases that involve a distributed sensing task, in which multiple sensors participate and contribute with (raw or pre-processed) sensing data, which is processed by a sensing service (e.g., fusing sensing measurements from the different sensors). This sensing service needs to be executed on some kind of sensing processing/computing function which receives raw (or preprocessed) data from multiple sources, potentially of different (heterogeneous) kinds (e.g., RF and non-RF sensing, or RF from different radio technologies). This processing might impose time synchronization constraints on the reception of the different parts of data, as well as potentially specific computing and/or AI/ML capabilities on the processing node.¶
The joint selection of sensing entities, processing locations, and network configuration under time-varying conditions results in a large, coupled, and non-stationary decision space. These characteristics motivate the use of agentic AI to enable distributed, closed-loop configuration and reconfiguration of sensing and networking resources.¶
This document presents initial considerations and potential solution directions for an architecture that enables the use of agentic AI for sensing (as an exemplary use case) supporting network optimization.¶
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Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) is emerging as a key enabler for next-generation wireless networks, integrating sensing and communication functionalities within a unified system. By leveraging the same spectral, hardware, and computational resources, ISAC enhances network efficiency while enabling new capabilities such as high-resolution environment perception, object detection, and situational awareness. This paradigm shift is particularly relevant for applications requiring both reliable connectivity and precise sensing, such as autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and smart city deployments. Given its strategic importance, ISAC has gained significant traction in standardization efforts. The ETSI Industry Specification Group (ISG) on ISAC has produced a set of group reports covering ISAC use cases and deployment scenarios [ETSI-GR-ISC-001], system and RAN architectures [ETSI-GR-ISC-003], security, privacy, trustworthiness and sustainability [ETSI-GR-ISC-004], and the integration of computing with ISAC [ETSI-GR-ISC-005]. In 3GPP, service requirements for ISAC have been specified [TS22137], the architecture enhancements to support sensing in the 5G System have been studied [TR23700-14], and ISAC is also part of the use cases and service requirements identified for 6G systems [TR22870]. Furthermore, research initiatives within the IEEE and IETF are investigating how ISAC can be integrated into network architectures [I-D.ietf-green-use-cases], spectrum management, and protocol design, making it a critical area of development in the evolution of wireless networks.¶
There are sensing scenarios and use cases that involve a distributed sensing task, in which multiple sensors participate and contribute with (raw or pre-processed) sensing data, which is processed by a sensing service (e.g., fusing sensing measurements from the different sensors). This sensing service needs to be executed on some kind of sensing processing/computing function which receives raw (or preprocessed) data from multiple sources, potentially of different (heterogeneous) kinds (e.g., RF and non-RF sensing, or RF from different radio technologies). This processing might impose time synchronization constraints on the reception of the different parts of data, as well as potentially specific computing and/or AI/ML capabilities on the processing node. The integration of computing with ISAC, including the selection of the nodes where sensing data is processed, is analyzed in [ETSI-GR-ISC-005].¶
The selection of the nodes that participate as sensors and sensing processing functions in a given distributed sensing task and the configuration of the network to facilitate the sensing task, and optimize both the sensing and the network operation, are not independent. However, achieving an overall optimal configuration is not a trivial task, especially when multiple optimization metrics and/or constraints are considered.¶
In distributed sensing, sensing KPIs (e.g., accuracy, refresh rate, confidence level, latency) are tightly coupled with radio, compute, and transport configurations. Moreover, mobility, traffic load, and environmental dynamics continuously alter the relationship between configuration and achieved sensing performance. Static or centrally pre-computed deterministic configurations can therefore become suboptimal or infeasible at run time. An agentic AI approach enables distributed decision-making, coordination among sensing and networking entities, and adaptive reconfiguration to sustain sensing KPIs under dynamic conditions¶
We assume a generic network architecture, where IETF CATS [I-D.ietf-cats-framework] and GREEN [I-D.ietf-green-use-cases] architectural considerations and solutions can be of application, though the solution can be generalized to scenarios based on different architectures.¶
We assume that there is a network function in charge of the coordination and configuration of the distributed sensing task, aware of which nodes in the network can participate as sensor nodes, and potentially of the capabilities of potential sensing processing nodes. This network function can be, for example, the Sensing Control Function (SCF), i.e., the control part of the Sensing Function (SF) considered in the 3GPP study on the architecture to support sensing [TR23700-14] (see also [ETSI-GR-ISC-003]), or a Gateway Sensing Function (GSF), also discussed in [TR23700-14].¶
We also assume that there is a network function in charge of managing the network configuration of the network, such as an SMF/AMF in a 3GPP 5G architecture.¶
We assume that there are AI agents, which might run on network nodes (such as terminals, radio access nodes or infrastructure nodes), of two types: AI agents for Sensing (AIaS) and AI agents for Networking (AIaN). These agents can run tasks aimed at finding an optimal configuration for sensing and connectivity, respectively and can interact among them to pursue these goals.¶
The interactions among AI agents described in this document are an instance of the agent-to-agent communication patterns being addressed by the IETF AGENTPROTO working group [I-D.agentic-ai-usecases-requirements], and of the AI agent use cases identified by 3GPP for 6G systems [TR22870] (e.g., collaborative AI agents, or data collection and fusion in multi-agent scenarios), whose implications on agent communication protocols are discussed in [I-D.stephan-agentproto-6g-usecases]. Similarly, the discovery of the AI agents involved in a sensing task relates to the work of the IETF DAWN working group [I-D.kay-dawn-use-cases]. Architectural principles for the use of agentic AI in autonomous networks are discussed in [I-D.jadoon-nmrg-agentic-ai-autonomous-networks]. This document does not define any new agent communication or discovery protocol; it focuses on the information exchanged and the actions triggered among sensing and networking agents.¶
A given network function or application function might request a specific sensing task (with associated requirements, e.g., in terms of accuracy) to the SCF directly or indirectly via the NEF and/or GSF, which can then request several AI agents for Sensing to select a sensing configuration and interact with the AI network agents to ensure the network is configured as needed. Note that the sensing task request might have some associated requirements, specific to the task (such as accuracy, or privacy) but also global ones, such as energy consumption, etc.¶
The following terms are used in this document:¶
This document also uses the terms "discovering entity", "discovered entity", "capability card" and "minimum discoverable information" as defined in [I-D.farrel-dawn-terminology].¶
We describe next an example of operation and signaling for a distributed sensing task to be configured and dynamically optimized based on agentic AI for sensing and networking. An AI agent for Sensing and an AI agent for Networking run on several network nodes (terminals, access nodes and processing nodes) and might interact to agree on a sensing and networking configuration that overall meets the sensing requirements while optimizing other metrics (such as privacy and energy consumption).¶
/_\ AI agent for Sensing
_
|_| AI agent for Networking
_________
| _ |
| |_| /_\ +-----\
|_________| \ ____________________________
Access Node #1 \ | |
_________ \| _________ |
| _ | | | _ | |
| |_| /_\ | | | |_| /_\ | |
|_________| | |_________| _________ |
terminal #1 | Processing | _ | |
______________ | node #1 | |_| /_\ | |
( ) | |_________| |
_________ ( object ) | SCF |
| _ | (______________) | |
| |_| /_\ | | _________ |
|_________| | | _ | |
terminal #2 | | |_| /_\ | |
/| |_________| |
_________ / | Processing |
_________ | _ | / | node #2 |
| _ | | |_| /_\ +- |____________________________|
| |_| /_\ | |_________|
|_________| Access Node #2
terminal #3
Figure 1 shows a high-level picture of the architecture.¶
In the following, we describe an exemplary procedure showing how different agents can interact to configure a distributed sensing task. The focus is on the interactions, the information exchanged and what actions might be triggered.¶
_________ _________ _________ _________ _____ _____ | _ | | _ | | _ | | _ | | _ | | | | |_| /_\ | | |_| /_\ | | |_| /_\ | | |_| /_\ | | |_| | | /_\ | |_________| |_________| |_________| |_________| |_____| |_____| terminal #1 terminal #2 AN #1 SPF #1 netw. SCF | | | | | | | | ctrl. | | | (0.AI agents discovery and registration) | 1.Sensing task | | | | | | | | | request | | 3.Agentic sensing | | 2.Sensing task request |<--- | | task request | |<-----------------------------| | |<----------------------| | | | | 4a.Agentic net req. 4b.Agentic net req. 4c.Agentic net req. | |<--| | | |<--| |<--| | | 4a.Connectivity request | | | | | | |------------------------------------------------->| | | | | | |4b.Connectivity request | | | | | | |------------------------->| | | | | | | | |4c.Connectivity request | | | | | | |---------->| | | | | | | | | | (network | | | | | | | | | config.) | | | | | | 5b.Connectivity response | | | | | | |<-------------------------| | | | | | | | 5c.Connectivity response | 6a.Agentic net resp. | | |<----------| | |-->| | 6b.Agentic net resp. 6c.Agentic net resp. | | | | | |-->| |-->| | | | | | | | |7.Agentic sensing task resp. | 7.Agentic sensing task resp. |<-------------| | | | |---------------------->| | | | | 7.Agentic sensing task resp.| | | | | | | | |---------->| 8.Sensing task response | | | | | | |----------------------------->| | | | | | | | | | | | (9.Monitoring actions to trigger reconfig. if needed) | | | | | | | | | | |
Figure 2 shows the message sequence chart of an agentic AI-enabled multi-sensor distributed sensing which is explained next:¶
Based on the information and metadata associated to the sensing request (e.g., location of the intended sensing), the SCF determines to use AI Agents for executing the sensing task, and sends a request to the AI agent for Sensing at the chosen sensing entity (Access Node #1 [AN#1], in our example). In this step the SCF may determine to use AI Agents based on any combination of:¶
This request might include the following information:¶
Sensing data governance requirements about privacy, security and trustworthiness such as for example what sensing data can be processed where in the system and what pre-processing and processing might be allowed to happen with the data, its fusion framework with other data and its exposure to application function or network function. Examples (non-limiting) of encoding of this are:¶
Allowed types of sensing fusion, e.g., a combination of the following possible options: only with raw data of some kind, mixing data partially processed with raw data, mixing different types of sensing technologies, mixing different levels of trustworthiness, etc. If the nodes involved in the sensing task belong to different administrative domains, additional mechanisms might need to be used to guarantee/prove that the processing and/or confidentiality of the sensing data is enforced. An example would be the use of a private or public blockchain.¶
The receiving AI agent for Sensing (in this example AIaS@AN#1) processes the request and based on the parameters received and its knowledge of the local context and prior training, decides whether it can honor the received request and whether it can interact with other agents. In this example, the agent decides to interact with three additional AI agents for sensing (@terminal#1 and @terminal#2, @processing node/SPF #1) to basically configure a multistatic active sensing (involving terminals #1 and #2 and AN#1) with the sensing processing done at processing node/SPF #1. AIaS@AN#1 sends an Agentic sensing task request, which includes the following parameters:¶
Intended sensing task configuration, including parameters such as:¶
Sensing data governance requirements about privacy, security and trustworthiness such as for example what sensing data can be processed where in the system and what pre-processing and processing might be allowed to happen with the data, its fusion framework with other data and its exposure to application function or network function. Examples (non-limiting) of encoding of this are:¶
Allowed types of sensing fusion, e.g., a combination of the following possible options (non limiting): only with raw data of some kind, mixing data partially processed with raw data, mixing different types of sensing technologies, mixing different levels of trustworthiness, etc. If the nodes involved in the sensing task belong to different administrative domains, additional mechanisms might need to be used to guarantee/prove that the processing and/or confidentiality of the sensing data is enforced. An example would be the use of a private or public blockchain.¶
Allowed level of agentic AI interactions. This parameter, which might be expressed in different ways, indicates how different agents are allowed to interact towards completion of the intended task. For example, the requester may indicate that the agent receiving the request has to perform the required actions without interacting with other sensing agents, or without interacting with networking agents, or which limitations to apply in regards of other agentic interactions (e.g., agent ownership limitations). It also includes whether the involved agents are responsible for monitoring the sensing task to trigger alerts and propose reconfiguration actions if needed. An example of a possible encoding of the allowed level of agentic AI interaction is the following:¶
When agent-to-agent interactions span multiple hops, the requests and responses belonging to the same sensing task need to be correlated, and the associated context (including the remaining allowed level of agentic AI interactions) propagated along the chain of agents. This is aligned with the agentic dialog management functionality and requirements being discussed in the IETF AGENTPROTO working group [I-D.agentic-ai-usecases-requirements].¶
How an agent decides that additional sensing tasks need to be performed in order to honor/complete the received sensing task is out of the scope of this document. It is up to the specific agents' implementation and the knowledge they have of the local context.¶
The receiving agents process the request, and similarly to what was done in the previous step, decide whether they need to do additional agent interactions. On each hop, the "allowed level of agentic AI interactions" is decreased by 1. Following the example encoding above, a receiving AIaS can interact with its local AIaN if the received value is at least 1, and can delegate further to other AI agents for Sensing only if the received value is greater than 1. (Non-limiting) examples of these sub-tasks are:¶
Let's assume for the sake of this example, that the following actions are required:¶
Note that it might also be possible that the request for guaranteed communication paths (e.g., between the processing node #1 and terminals #1 and #2) could also be triggered by AI agents running on the terminals.¶
SENSING and CONNECTIVITY MONITORING. Depending on whether the agents were instructed to perform continuous monitoring or not, different options are possible:¶
N/A.¶
The use of AI agents to configure sensing and networking resources introduces security and privacy risks, some of which are discussed in this section. This is a first list that will be extended in future versions of this document.¶
AI agents need to be authenticated independently of the entity (e.g., the SCF or an application function) on whose behalf they act. The authorization delegated along a chain of agents needs to be scoped and bounded; the "allowed level of agentic AI interactions" parameter provides one such bound, but it is only effective if receiving agents can verify it has not been tampered with and enforce it. Delegated authorization across chains of AI agents is one of the aspects being considered in the IETF AGENTPROTO working group [I-D.agentic-ai-usecases-requirements].¶
Agent-initiated configuration actions, such as the connectivity requests sent by an AIaN to the network control entity (e.g., SMF/AMF), can modify the behavior of the network. These requests need to be authorized by the network control entity, and should be auditable so that the operator can trace which agent triggered a given configuration change and on behalf of which original request.¶
Information used to discover AI agents should be integrity protected, and its visibility controlled, as it may reveal network topology or the sensing capabilities available in a given area [I-D.kay-dawn-use-cases]. Persistent identifiers used to correlate agent interactions may also enable tracking of sensing tasks or of their targets.¶
Sensing data is privacy sensitive. The sensing data governance requirements described in Section 3 (e.g., where raw data can be processed, confidentiality and trustworthiness of the exchanged data) need to be propagated and enforced by all agents involved in a sensing task, including when nodes belong to different administrative domains. Security, privacy, trustworthiness and sustainability aspects of ISAC are analyzed in [ETSI-GR-ISC-004].¶
Further architectural security considerations for agentic AI in autonomous networks are discussed in [I-D.jadoon-nmrg-agentic-ai-autonomous-networks].¶
The work of Carlos J. Bernardos in this document has been partially supported by the Horizon Europe SUSTAIN-6G (Grant Agreement No. 101191936), MultiX (Grant Agreement No. 101192521), PRIME-6G (Grant Agreement No. 101272485) and DISCO6G-CM.¶