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An Overview of Intelligent Meta-surfaces for 6G and Beyond: Opportunities, Trends, and Challenges

Mayur Katwe, Aryan Kaushik, Lina Mohjazi, Mohammad Abualhayja'a, Davide Dardari, Keshav Singh, Muhammad Ali Imran, M. Majid Butt, Octavia A. Dobre

TL;DR

This paper surveys intelligent metasurfaces (IS), or reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and their potential to transform 6G by manipulating electromagnetic waves and enabling analog signal processing with low complexity. It reviews IS unit-cell families (including passive RIS, STAR-RIS, active RIS, stacked intelligent metasurfaces (SIM), meta-lenses, and meta-prisms) and highlights multifunctional capabilities for control, computing, communication, localization, and sensing. It discusses key usage scenarios (ISAC, NTN, V2X, MEC for IoT, metaverse experiences, and other applications) and presents IS-aided use-cases with performance gains in aerial RSMA and V2X interference management. The paper also outlines ongoing standardization efforts (3GPP Rel 18/19, ETSI RIS ISG) and multiple open challenges (channel estimation, wideband modeling, deployment strategies, interoperability, and privacy), concluding with a call for continued research to realize IS-enabled 7G and beyond.

Abstract

With the impending arrival of the sixth generation (6G) of wireless communication technology, the telecommunications landscape is poised for another revolutionary transformation. At the forefront of this evolution are intelligent meta-surfaces (IS), emerging as a disruptive physical layer technology with the potential to redefine the capabilities and performance metrics of future wireless networks. As 6G evolves from concept to reality, industry stakeholders, standards organizations, and regulatory bodies are collaborating to define the specifications, protocols, and interoperability standards governing IS deployment. Against this background, this article delves into the ongoing standardization efforts, emerging trends, potential opportunities, and prevailing challenges surrounding the integration of IS into the framework of 6G and beyond networks. Specifically, it provides a tutorial-style overview of recent advancements in IS and explores their potential applications within future networks beyond 6G. Additionally, the article identifies key challenges in the design and implementation of various types of intelligent surfaces, along with considerations for their practical standardization. Finally, it highlights potential future prospects in this evolving field.

An Overview of Intelligent Meta-surfaces for 6G and Beyond: Opportunities, Trends, and Challenges

TL;DR

This paper surveys intelligent metasurfaces (IS), or reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and their potential to transform 6G by manipulating electromagnetic waves and enabling analog signal processing with low complexity. It reviews IS unit-cell families (including passive RIS, STAR-RIS, active RIS, stacked intelligent metasurfaces (SIM), meta-lenses, and meta-prisms) and highlights multifunctional capabilities for control, computing, communication, localization, and sensing. It discusses key usage scenarios (ISAC, NTN, V2X, MEC for IoT, metaverse experiences, and other applications) and presents IS-aided use-cases with performance gains in aerial RSMA and V2X interference management. The paper also outlines ongoing standardization efforts (3GPP Rel 18/19, ETSI RIS ISG) and multiple open challenges (channel estimation, wideband modeling, deployment strategies, interoperability, and privacy), concluding with a call for continued research to realize IS-enabled 7G and beyond.

Abstract

With the impending arrival of the sixth generation (6G) of wireless communication technology, the telecommunications landscape is poised for another revolutionary transformation. At the forefront of this evolution are intelligent meta-surfaces (IS), emerging as a disruptive physical layer technology with the potential to redefine the capabilities and performance metrics of future wireless networks. As 6G evolves from concept to reality, industry stakeholders, standards organizations, and regulatory bodies are collaborating to define the specifications, protocols, and interoperability standards governing IS deployment. Against this background, this article delves into the ongoing standardization efforts, emerging trends, potential opportunities, and prevailing challenges surrounding the integration of IS into the framework of 6G and beyond networks. Specifically, it provides a tutorial-style overview of recent advancements in IS and explores their potential applications within future networks beyond 6G. Additionally, the article identifies key challenges in the design and implementation of various types of intelligent surfaces, along with considerations for their practical standardization. Finally, it highlights potential future prospects in this evolving field.
Paper Structure (18 sections, 6 figures)

This paper contains 18 sections, 6 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. IS Empowering Multifunctions: Control, Computing, Communication, Localization, Sensing
  3. Recent Advancements in IS
  4. Key Usage Scenarios and Applications of IS for 6G and Beyond
  5. Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC)
  6. Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
  7. Vehicle to Everything (V2X)
  8. MEC for IoT devices
  9. Metaverse Experiences
  10. Other Applications
  11. Examples of IS-aided Use-cases
  12. Aerial RIS-assisted HAP-terrestrial communication
  13. Interference Managment for V2X using RIS aided Rate-splitting Multiple Access Schemes
  14. RIS for 6G and Beyond: Standardization Trends
  15. 3GPP and Others: Standardization Trends and Opportunities
  16. ...and 3 more sections

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: IMT-2030 Requirement and IS Capabilities.
  • Figure 2: Unit Cell of Various IS.
  • Figure 3: Key Usage Scenarios of IS for 6G and Beyond.
  • Figure 4: Performance Evaluation of RIS-aided RSMA when the minimum QoS rate requirement $=1$bps/Hz, number of users $=6$, number of BS antennas $=4$, maximum transmit power budget $=40$dBm.
  • Figure 5: Performance Evaluation of Aerial RIS-aided HAP to terrestrial communication when 1000 users uniformly distributed across a 10 km$^2$ area and with different heights for the HAP (17km-20km).
  • ...and 1 more figures