A team of engineers has developed a new way to help future 6G wireless networks overcome one of their biggest challenges: the growing amount of electromagnetic interference created by billions of connected devices around the world.
Researchers led by the University of Glasgow have found a way to improve the performance of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), a technology expected to play an important role in next-generation wireless communications.
Their new approach could make future networks faster, more secure and more energy efficient while supporting advanced applications such as connected health care, autonomous vehicles and smart cities.
Today, there are more connected devices on Earth than twice the world’s population of more than eight billion people.
Smartphones, laptops, smartwatches, vehicles and countless other devices constantly exchange information using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile networks. As more devices communicate at the same time, they create increasing amounts of electromagnetic interference, making it harder for wireless signals to travel clearly.
One technology designed to tackle this problem is the reconfigurable intelligent surface.
These “smart surfaces” are covered with thousands of tiny programmable elements that can control how wireless signals are reflected. Much like a mirror can direct sunlight toward a chosen location, an intelligent surface can redirect radio signals toward the intended receiver, strengthening the connection and reducing signal loss.
In addition to improving signal strength, the technology also offers better security because it focuses the signal toward authorized users, making it more difficult for others to intercept the transmission.
However, the technology has had one major drawback. Intelligent surfaces reflect every signal they receive, including unwanted electromagnetic interference. As a result, they can accidentally strengthen background noise along with the useful signal, reducing communication quality.
Instead of trying to remove the interference after it reaches the network, the Glasgow-led research team developed a smarter solution. Their system first studies the unique statistical “fingerprint” of the interference and identifies the strongest communication path. It then uses that information to control how the intelligent surface redirects wireless signals, filtering out much of the unwanted noise while preserving the strength of the intended signal.
The researchers call this approach an electromagnetic interference-aware, or EMI-aware, framework.
The team tested the system in a laboratory using a reconfigurable intelligent surface containing more than 4,000 programmable elements arranged in a 64-by-64 grid. They used wireless signals operating at 3.5 gigahertz, the same frequency band commonly used by today’s 5G networks.
During the experiment, three authorized users were placed inside the testing room, while two additional users were positioned in a nearby corridor to simulate potential eavesdroppers. Guided by the new algorithm, the intelligent surface concentrated wireless signals toward the authorized users while preventing the corridor users from receiving a usable signal.
The experiments matched the team’s computer simulations, demonstrating faster data transmission, accurate user positioning and improved security. The researchers also found that handling interference before signals reached the base station reduced the amount of computing power needed, lowering energy consumption.
The study highlights how intelligent wireless environments could become active participants in future 6G networks rather than simply reflecting signals. By combining communication, sensing and computing, researchers believe these adaptive systems could help build secure, resilient and energy-efficient digital infrastructure for tomorrow’s connected world.
The study was published in the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Electromagnetics, Antennas and Propagation.
