# RIS-Aided Wireless Communications: Prototyping, Adaptive Beamforming, and Indoor/Outdoor Field Trials

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.00534 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00534/

## Key facts

- Cited by 14 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 28 Feb 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [Autoencoder-based Communications with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.04441/) (2021)
- [Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Adaptive IRS Control with Limited Feedback Codebooks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.03636/) (2022)
- [Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface-assisted Classification of Modulations using Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.08388/) (2022)
- [Channel Estimation in RIS-Enabled mmWave Wireless Systems: A Variational Inference Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.13616/) (2023)
- [A DRL-based Reflection Enhancement Method for RIS-assisted Multi-receiver Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05343/) (2023)
- [Optimal Beamforming of RIS-Aided Wireless Communications: An Alternating Inner Product Maximization Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06442/) (2024)
- [TRGR: Transmissive RIS-aided Gait Recognition Through Walls](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.21566/) (2024)
- [Learning Beamforming Codebooks for Active Sensing with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.19046/) (2025)
- [Vision-Based Autonomous MM-Wave Reflector Using ArUco-Driven Angle-of-Arrival Estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.05195/) (2025)
- [Discrete Beamforming Optimization for RISs with a Limited Phase Range and Amplitude Attenuation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.07342/) (2025)
- [Towards 6G Intelligence: The Role of Generative AI in Future Wireless Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19495/) (2025)
- [RIS-Assisted Proactive Handover for Reliable mmWave Wireless Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.26885/) (2026)
- [Hybrid-Field Sparse Channel Representation and Recovery for XL-RIS-Assisted mmWave MIMO Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.00052/) (2026)
- [A 3GPP-Compliant Benchmark Dataset for RIS-Aided Beyond 5G Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.39058/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The prospects of using a Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) to aid wireless communication systems have recently received much attention from academia and industry. Most papers make theoretical studies based on elementary models, while the prototyping of RIS-aided wireless communication and real-world field trials are scarce. In this paper, we describe a new RIS prototype consisting of 1100 controllable elements working at 5.8 GHz band. We propose an efficient algorithm for configuring the RIS over the air by exploiting the geometrical array properties and a practical receiver-RIS feedback link. In our indoor test, where the transmitter and receiver are separated by a 30 cm thick concrete wall, our RIS prototype provides a 26 dB power gain compared to the baseline case where the RIS is replaced by a copper plate. A 27 dB power gain was observed in the short-distance outdoor measurement. We also carried out long-distance measurements and successfully transmitted a 32 Mbps data stream over 500 m. A 1080p video was live-streamed and it only played smoothly when the RIS was utilized. The power consumption of the RIS is around 1 W. Our paper is vivid proof that the RIS is a very promising technology for future wireless communications.