# Intelligent Surfaces Empowered Wireless Network: Recent Advances and The Road to 6G

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.16918 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.16918/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 28 Dec 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Diffusion Models for Future Networks and Communications: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01586/) (2025)
- [Achieving Robust Channel Estimation Neural Networks by Designed Training Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.12630/) (2025)
- [Optimal Beamforming of RIS-Aided Wireless Communications: An Alternating Inner Product Maximization Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06442/) (2024)
- [Optimal Configuration of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces With Non-uniform Phase Quantization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06967/) (2024)
- [Learning Beamforming Codebooks for Active Sensing with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.19046/) (2025)
- [Neural Channel Knowledge Map Assisted Scheduling Optimization of Active IRSs in Multi-User Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.07009/) (2025)
- [Adaptive Learning for IRS-Assisted Wireless Networks: Securing Opportunistic Communications Against Byzantine Eavesdroppers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.08206/) (2025)
- [Hybrid Mamba-Attention Neural Architecture for Channel Estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.17108/) (2026)
- [When Agentic AI Meets Integrated Sensing and Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.05792/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Intelligent surfaces (ISs) have emerged as a key technology to empower a wide range of appealing applications for wireless networks, due to their low cost, high energy efficiency, flexibility of deployment and capability of constructing favorable wireless channels/radio environments. Moreover, the recent advent of several new IS architectures further expanded their electromagnetic functionalities from passive reflection to active amplification, simultaneous reflection and refraction, as well as holographic beamforming. However, the research on ISs is still in rapid progress and there have been recent technological advances in ISs and their emerging applications that are worthy of a timely review. Thus, we provide in this paper a comprehensive survey on the recent development and advances of ISs aided wireless networks. Specifically, we start with an overview on the anticipated use cases of ISs in future wireless networks such as 6G, followed by a summary of the recent standardization activities related to ISs. Then, the main design issues of the commonly adopted reflection-based IS and their state-of-the-art solutions are presented in detail, including reflection optimization, deployment, signal modulation, wireless sensing, and integrated sensing and communications. Finally, recent progress and new challenges in advanced IS architectures are discussed to inspire futrue research.