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Integration of Beyond Diagonal RIS and UAVs in 6G NTNs: Enhancing Aerial Connectivity

Wali Ullah Khan, Eva Lagunas, Asad Mahmood, Muhammad Asif, Manzoor Ahmed, Symeon Chatzinotas

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of delivering reliable, high-rate connectivity in 6G non-terrestrial networks by leveraging Beyond Diagonal Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (BD-RIS) on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It provides a thorough examination of UAV preliminaries, BD-RIS fundamentals, and UAV-based BD-RIS configurations, culminating in a case study of a transmissive BD-RIS mounted on a UAV that demonstrates superior spectral efficiency compared to Diagonal RIS. The work highlights key benefits, including reduced RF chain requirements, extended UAV energy life, improved interference management, and strengthened security, along with practical architecture trade-offs. These findings suggest BD-RIS–UAV integration as a scalable, flexible solution for future 6G NTNs, with clear directions for further optimization and cross-technology integration.

Abstract

The reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology shows great potential in sixth-generation (6G) terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) since it can effectively change wireless settings to improve connectivity. Extensive research has been conducted on traditional RIS systems with diagonal phase response matrices. The straightforward RIS architecture, while cost-effective, has restricted capabilities in manipulating the wireless channels. The beyond diagonal reconfigurable intelligent surface (BD-RIS) greatly improves control over the wireless environment by utilizing interconnected phase response elements. This work proposes the integration of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications and BD-RIS in 6G NTNs, which has the potential to further enhance wireless coverage and spectral efficiency. We begin with the preliminaries of UAV communications and then discuss the fundamentals of BD-RIS technology. Subsequently, we discuss the potential of BD-RIS and UAV communications integration. We then proposed a case study based on UAV-mounted transmissive BD-RIS communication. Finally, we highlight future research directions and conclude this work.

Integration of Beyond Diagonal RIS and UAVs in 6G NTNs: Enhancing Aerial Connectivity

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of delivering reliable, high-rate connectivity in 6G non-terrestrial networks by leveraging Beyond Diagonal Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (BD-RIS) on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It provides a thorough examination of UAV preliminaries, BD-RIS fundamentals, and UAV-based BD-RIS configurations, culminating in a case study of a transmissive BD-RIS mounted on a UAV that demonstrates superior spectral efficiency compared to Diagonal RIS. The work highlights key benefits, including reduced RF chain requirements, extended UAV energy life, improved interference management, and strengthened security, along with practical architecture trade-offs. These findings suggest BD-RIS–UAV integration as a scalable, flexible solution for future 6G NTNs, with clear directions for further optimization and cross-technology integration.

Abstract

The reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology shows great potential in sixth-generation (6G) terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) since it can effectively change wireless settings to improve connectivity. Extensive research has been conducted on traditional RIS systems with diagonal phase response matrices. The straightforward RIS architecture, while cost-effective, has restricted capabilities in manipulating the wireless channels. The beyond diagonal reconfigurable intelligent surface (BD-RIS) greatly improves control over the wireless environment by utilizing interconnected phase response elements. This work proposes the integration of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications and BD-RIS in 6G NTNs, which has the potential to further enhance wireless coverage and spectral efficiency. We begin with the preliminaries of UAV communications and then discuss the fundamentals of BD-RIS technology. Subsequently, we discuss the potential of BD-RIS and UAV communications integration. We then proposed a case study based on UAV-mounted transmissive BD-RIS communication. Finally, we highlight future research directions and conclude this work.
Paper Structure (39 sections, 4 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 39 sections, 4 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Preliminaries of UAV Communications
  3. Applications of UAVs
  4. Enhanced Connectivity
  5. Improved System Coverage and Capacity
  6. High Reliability and Minimal Delay
  7. 3D Network Topology
  8. Edge Computing and IoT Integration
  9. Integrated Sensing and Communication
  10. Use Cases of UAV Communications
  11. Flying UE
  12. Aerial BS
  13. Flying Relay
  14. Beyond Diagonal RIS Fundamentals
  15. D-RIS Versus BD-RIS
  16. ...and 24 more sections

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Use cases of UAV communications, including flying UE, aerial BS, and relay nodes.
  • Figure 2: BD-RIS hardware architectures include a 4-element single-connected, a 4-element fully-connected, and an 8-element group-connected configuration with a group size of 2.
  • Figure 3: Configuration of UAV-based BD-RIS systems: (a) Terrestrial BD-RIS configuration, (b) Aerial BD-RIS configuration, and (c) Dual BD-RIS configuration.
  • Figure 4: (a) System model of transmissive BD-RIS mounted UAV communications, (b) Achievable spectral efficiency of the system versus varying phase response elements.