Self-Adaptive RISs Beyond Free Space: Convergence of Localization, Sensing and Communication under Rich-Scattering Conditions

TL;DR

This paper explores how reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) can be used in complex, rich-scattering environments like factories for 6G, emphasizing the importance of localization and sensing for self-adaptive operation.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for self-adaptive RIS operation in rich-scattering conditions, highlighting the necessity of context-awareness and demonstrating performance benefits through a case study.

Findings

Self-adaptive RISs outperform non-adaptive ones below certain noise thresholds.

Rich scattering channels are highly nonlinear and require full context-awareness.

Overhead from localization and sensing can be justified by the benefits in adaptive communication.

Abstract

We discuss the need for a confluence of localization, sensing and communications if RISs are to be deployed in a self-adaptive manner in the dynamically evolving rich-scattering settings that are typical for 6G deployment scenarios such as factories. We establish that in such problems the rich-scattering wireless channels are subject to a highly nonlinear deterministic double-parametrization through both the RIS and uncontrolled moving objects. Therefore, acquiring full context-awareness through localization and sensing is a prerequisite for RIS-empowered communications. Yet, the byproducts of this daunting communications overhead can feed many appliances that require context awareness, such that overhead concerns may vanish. We illustrate the essential steps for operating a self-adaptive RIS under rich scattering based on a prototypical case study. We discover that self-adaptive RISs outperform context-ignorant RISs only below a certain noise threshold that depends, among other factors, on how strongly uncontrolled perturbers impact the wireless channel. We also discuss ensuing future research directions that will determine the conditions under which RISs may serve as technological enabler of 6G networks.