ETSI launched a new Industry Specification Group on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (ISG RIS).
RIS is defined as a system node leveraging smart radio surfaces with thousands of small antennas or metamaterial elements to dynamically shape and control radio signals in a goal-oriented manner, either indoor or outdoor. RIS can be configured to operate at any part of the radio spectrum, including frequencies from sub-6 GHz to THz, and may use tools from Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to enable systems operation and optimization.
ETSI forecasts technology will effectively turn the wireless environment into a service, inspiring a host of new use cases, including localization and sensing. As an example, an RIS can reconfigure the radio environment to sense human posture and detect someone falling, a very useful application for elderly care. RIS, thanks to its associated characteristics, is expected to serve as a key technology in future wireless systems, including for 6G.
"Transforming the wireless environment from a passive into an intelligent actor, RIS will create innovation opportunities and progressively impact the evolution of wireless system architecture, access technologies, and networking protocols. There are however many technical challenges that need to be adequately addressed before RIS can be adopted into future standards, towards commercialization of the technology, and the ETSI ISG RIS aims to identify and address some of these challenges”, says Arman Shojaeifard, Chair of ISG RIS.
