Impact of RIS Orientation on Throughput in UAV-Assisted Wireless Systems

TL;DR

This study examines how the physical orientation of a UAV-mounted Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface affects wireless throughput, emphasizing the importance of optimal RIS alignment for enhanced data rates in UAV-assisted systems.

Contribution

It introduces an analysis of RIS orientation effects on throughput using simulation, highlighting the need for orientation-aware optimization in UAV-assisted wireless networks.

Findings

RIS orientation significantly impacts achievable data rates

Optimal RIS angles improve system throughput

Simulation results demonstrate the importance of alignment in practical deployments

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) orientation on the throughput performance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-assisted wireless communication systems. Specifically, we study how physical rotation of the RIS, through controlled azimuth and elevation adjustments, influences the effective channel and data rate. A UAV-mounted RIS enables directional alignment to serve ground users in scenarios where the direct Base Station (BS)-to-user path is blocked. Using the SimRIS channel simulator, we analyze the system under various rotation angles and present performance heatmaps that highlight optimal RIS orientations. The study shows that RIS alignment has a substantial effect on achievable rates, thereby motivating orientation-aware optimization in practical deployments.