Future Wireless Communications Empowered by Reconfigurable Intelligent Meta-Materials (META WIRELESS)

Project Information

META WIRELESS

Grant agreement ID: 956256

DOI

10.3030/956256

Project closed

EC signature date 3 September 2020

Start date 1 December 2020

End date 31 May 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 3 995 128,44

EU contribution

€ 3 995 128,44

Coordinated by

CONSORZIO NAZIONALE INTERUNIVERSITARIO PER LE TELECOMUNICAZIONI
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - META WIRELESS (Future Wireless Communications Empowered by Reconfigurable Intelligent Meta-Materials (META WIRELESS))

Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2025-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The META WIRELESS project has investigated the use of meta materials in wireless communications. The project was organized around two complementary pillars: technical research objectives and dedicated training objectives.

On the research side, the focus was on exploring the potential of metamaterials in wireless networks. Key results include the development of both theoretical models and algorithmic solutions for metasurface-empowered wireless communications, and of an open-source simulator. The META WIRELESS project has combined meta materials, antennas and software such that a real time fine granularity control of the environment for wireless communications becomes possible. This capability has been used to design and much more energy and spectral efficient wireless networks than today's wireless networks, providing the foundations of connected digital services. META WIRELESS results, contributing to the development of the next generation of wireless networks, and to increasing the quality of life and the wellbeing of people.

On the training side, great emphasis was placed on preparing a new generation of researchers to lead this emerging field. The training program combined highly technical doctoral schools with complementary courses aimed at building broader professional skills.

The project lasted four and a half years: slightly more than one year was devoted to recruiting 15 researchers, followed by three years of intensive research and training. The outcome has been very positive: all participants are now employed, with several currently completing their PhDs, and others already working either in industry or in academia as postdoctoral researchers. Importantly, the majority have remained in Europe, contributing to strengthening the region’s leadership in wireless
communications.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project hired 15 Early-Stage-Researchers for a total of 507 person months.

ESR-8 (LE HAO) developed novel routines to add support for metasurfaces to the Vienna system-level simulator available at TUW and worked jointly with ESR-8 to the integration with ray-tracing modules in simple network setups.
ESR-14 (VLADIMIR LENETS) developed new metasurface architectures for operation at millimeter waves, with reduced complexity and simplified control. The developed designs have been validated by experimental measurements.
ESR-5 (MOHAMMAD JAVAD SHABANPOUR) developed new metasurface solutions that provide a better angular stability than competing alternatives, while at the same time allowing to reflect both TE and TM incident polarizations, and operating over a broader frequency spectrum.
ESR-10 (DOGA GURGUNOGLU) developed practical techniques for joint channel estimation and design of wireless networks employing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.
ESR-6 (MOSTAFA MOVAHEDIQOMI) developed new electromagnetic-compliant models for wireless networks employing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The considered approach is based on the introduction of equivalent surface impedance, assuming the reconfigurable intelligent surface can be considered a bi-dimensional object.
ESR-15 (JOAQUIN GARCIA FERNANDEZ) developed new designs for low-complexity metasurface structures that can be used to implement transmit modulation schemes thanks to limited complexity required to change their electromagnetic configuration in real-time. Reconfiguration latencies of tens or hundreds of nanoseconds were achieved.
ESR-12 (SRAVAN KUMAR REDDY VUYYURU) developed new ray-tracing modules to account for the presence of metasurfaces in simple wireless environments and worked jointly with ESR-1 to integrate them in the system-level simulator developed by ESR-1.
ESR-11 (GUILLERMO ENCINAS LAGO) developed deployment techniques for large-scale wireless networks empowered by reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. A simulation environment was produced to emulate the network deployment and operation in a realistic wireless environment.
ESR-3 (MUHAMMAD WASIF SHABIR) developed new electromagnetic models for signal propagation with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. Transmitters and receivers are modeled as distributed sources of electrical/magnetic charges that emit waves, which electromagnetically interact with the surrounding objects.
ESR-7 (MASOUD SADEGHIAN) developed novel SNR models that are tailored to the presence of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in a wireless environment. This is the basis for the derivation of a mathematical expression of achievable rate, energy efficiency, latency, and reliability in networks employing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.
ESR-1 (ROBERT KUKU FOTOCK) developed novel radio resource optimization techniques for the maximization of the achievable rate and energy efficiency of wireless networks employing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The achieved results have provided the optimized energy efficiency and rate that can be attained in wireless networks with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.
ESR-4 (SHUMIN WANG) developed a new analytical framework to quantify the performance of wireless networks with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The framework leverages machine learning tools and is able to provide the optimized reflection coefficients of a reconfigurable intelligent surface.
ESR-2 (GEORGIOS MYLONOPOULOS) developed novel techniques for user localization in wireless networks employing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The developed techniques make use of active metasurfaces to boost the localization accuracy, outperforming the use of passive metasurfaces.
ESR-9 (FAHAD AHMED) contributed to develop innovative metasurface designs which operate above the sub 6GHz bands that is commonly used for wireless communications.
ESR-13 (SINA BEYRAGHI) developed and customized ray tracing tools to analyze and optimize the coverage gains granted by the use of metasurfaces.

Overall, the research led to about 67 high-quality technical papers, including prestigious IEEE Transactions Journals and IEEE Conferences.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The META WIRELESS project drove significant advancements in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS). Progress beyond state-of-the-art includes developing third-generation, real-time reconfigurable RISs for joint communication and sensing, establishing new electromagnetically consistent theoretical frameworks, and creating the first open-access system-level simulator for large-scale RIS-based networks.

Key results feature innovative tunable RIS designs achieving 30% efficiency improvements for anomalous reflection, and pioneering wireless power and control mechanisms for RIS.

The project developed optimal secrecy energy efficiency algorithms, advanced active-RIS aided localization (outperforming passive methods), and proposed AI-assisted deployment strategies.

Furthermore, it enabled simultaneous Angle-of-Arrival sensing with anomalous reflection, and integrated full RIS support into system-level simulators. Potential impacts involve transforming wireless propagation for enhanced signal quality, coverage, and localization accuracy, leading to more cost-effective and energy-efficient deployments. This work profoundly contributes to future 5G/6G systems and global standardization efforts.

As of August 2025, 9 ESRs have already completed their PhD, and are all employed. The other ESRs are completing their PhD studies.

Official Project Logo

A typical environment where meta-surfaces increase the performance of wireless networks