Reconfigurable-Intelligent-Surface Empowered 6G Wireless Communications: Challenges and Opportunities
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Although the commercialization of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks is just in its initial stage, sixth-generation (6G) research effort has been kicked off from the academic and industrial points of view. Researches on the candidate technologies of 6G, such as ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), terahertz communications, artificial intelligence (AI) empowered wireless networks, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), are all in full swing. Among them, RISs are regarded as a promising emerging hardware technology to improve the spectrum and energy efficiency of wireless networks by artificially reconfiguring the propagation environment of electromagnetic waves. Due to the unique advantages in enhancing wireless communications, RISs have become a hot topic in recent researches. In this article, we focus on three main challenges of implementing RISs in wireless networks, namely, channel state information acquisition, passive information transfer, and resource allocation of RIS-aided communication systems. We summarize the state-of-the-art solutions and explore potential research directions. Furthermore, we enumerate promising application scenarios of RISs, such as edge intelligence, unmanned-aerial-vehicle communications, and so forth.
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