The advent of the sixth-generation (6G) of wireless communications has given
rise to the necessity to connect vast quantities of heterogeneous wireless
devices, which requires advanced system capabilities far beyond existing
network architectures. In particular, such massive communication has been
recognized as a prime driver that can empower the 6G vision of future
ubiquitous connectivity, supporting Internet of Human-Machine-Things for which
massive access is critical. This paper surveys the most recent advances toward
massive access in both academic and industry communities, focusing primarily on
the promising compressive sensing-based grant-free massive access paradigm. We
first specify the limitations of existing random access schemes and reveal that
the practical implementation of massive communication relies on a dramatically
different random access paradigm from the current ones mainly designed for
human-centric communications. Then, a compressive sensing-based grant-free
massive access roadmap is presented, where the evolutions from single-antenna
to large-scale antenna array-based base stations, from single-station to
cooperative massive multiple-input multiple-output systems, and from unsourced
to sourced random access scenarios are detailed. Finally, we discuss the key
challenges and open issues to shed light on the potential future research
directions of grant-free massive access.Comment: Accepted by IEEE IoT Journa