Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) are expected to play a crucial role in reaching the key performance indicators (KPIs) for future 6G networks. Their competitive edge over conventional technologies lies in their ability to control the wireless environment propagation properties at will, thus revolutionizing the traditional communication paradigm that perceives the communication channel as an uncontrollable black box. As RISs transition from research to market, practical deployment issues arise. Major roadblocks for commercially viable RISs are i) the need for a fast and complex control channel to adapt to the ever-changing wireless channel conditions, and ii) an extensive grid to supply power to each deployed RIS. In this paper, we question the established RIS practices and propose a novel RIS design combining self-configuration and energy self-sufficiency capabilities. We analyze the feasibility of devising fully-autonomous RISs that can be easily and seamlessly installed throughout the environment, following the new Internet-of-Surfaces (IoS) paradigm, requiring modifications neither to the deployed mobile network nor to the power distribution system. In particular, we introduce ARES, an Autonomous RIS with Energy harvesting and Self-configuration solution. ARES achieves outstanding communication performance while demonstrating the feasibility of energy harvesting (EH) for RISs power supply in future deployments.

翻译：可重构智能表面（RIS）预计将在实现未来6G网络的关键性能指标（KPI）中发挥核心作用。其相较于传统技术的竞争优势在于能够按需控制无线环境的传播特性，从而彻底改变将通信信道视为不可控黑箱的传统通信范式。随着RIS从研究走向市场，实际部署问题逐渐浮现。商业可行RIS的主要障碍包括：i) 需要快速复杂的控制信道以适应不断变化的无线信道条件；ii) 需要为每个部署的RIS提供庞大供电网格。本文对现有RIS实践提出质疑，提出一种结合自配置与能量自给能力的新型RIS设计方案。我们分析了设计完全自主化RIS的可行性，这种RIS能够遵循新型"表面互联"（IoS）范式无缝便捷地部署于各类环境，且无需对现有移动网络或配电系统进行改造。特别地，我们提出ARES——一种具备能量收集与自配置能力的自主RIS解决方案。ARES在展现未来部署中利用能量收集（EH）为RIS供电可行性的同时，实现了卓越的通信性能。