Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for 6G: applications, challenges, and solutions

Scholars are expected to continue enhancing the depth and breadth of theoretical research on reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) to provide a higher theoretical limit for RIS engineering applications. Notably, significant advancements have been achieved through both academic research breakthroughs and the promotion of engineering applications and industrialization. We provide an overview of RIS engineering applications, focusing primarily on their typical features, classifications, and deployment scenarios. Furthermore, we systematically and comprehensively analyze the challenges faced by RIS and propose potential solutions including addressing the beamforming issues through cascade channel decoupling, tackling the effects and resolutions of regulatory constraints on RIS, exploring the network-controlled mode for RIS system architecture, examining integrated channel regulation and information modulation, and investigating the use of the true time delay (TTD) mechanism for RIS. In addition, two key technical points, RIS-assisted non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and RIS-based transmitter, are reviewed from the perspective of completeness. Finally, we discuss future trends and challenges in this field.