SCROOGE: A Physics-Aware Framework for Efficient Orchestration of RIS-Assisted Networks

TL;DR

SCROOGE is a physics-aware framework for efficiently orchestrating RIS-assisted networks, enabling low-latency resource allocation, energy efficiency, and admission control based on offline-generated descriptors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel offline physics-based approach for real-time RIS network orchestration, avoiding online optimization and supporting multiple control objectives.

Findings

Supports low-latency decisions using physics-derived descriptors.

Improves energy efficiency by deactivating low-influence elements.

Enhances resource allocation and admission control in RIS networks.

Abstract

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) are emerging as a key enabler of Programmable Wireless Environments for 6G, but their practical integration into operational networks still lacks orchestration mechanisms that can jointly support resource allocation, energy efficiency, and admission control with low online complexity. This paper presents SCROOGE, a physics-aware orchestration framework for multi-user RIS-assisted networks that operates on information generated offline during RIS codebook compilation, namely optimal codebook entries and per-element influence scores. Rather than relying on online optimization or idealized fading-based abstractions, SCROOGE exploits physics-derived descriptors to support low-latency operating-phase decisions that remain compatible with network-level control requirements. Specifically, SCROOGE introduces: i) an influence-aware, tier-consistent resource-allocation mechanism that combines user priority and element importance in the construction of a common RIS configuration; ii) an energy-efficiency mechanism that deactivates globally low-influence elements; and iii) an admission-control mechanism that accepts or rejects candidate users based on tier-aware compatibility with the currently deployed RIS state.