The Future of Intelligent Wavefront Shaping for Smart Radio Environments

Abstract: As the electromagnetic spectrum becomes more congested and the environments in which we need to operate become more complicated, control over the environment itself becomes necessary to ensure the integrity of wireless communication channels. Wavefront shaping with programmable metasurfaces allows wave fields to be manipulated in both time and space, providing a method to interact with the environment. When coupled with deep learning, intelligent wavefront shaping serves as a catalyst, enabling smart radio environments and unlocking applications beyond traditional wireless communication networks. In this paper, we discuss the outlook of intelligent wavefront shaping for wave propagation in complex environments and highlight its transformative potential.