Holographic & Channel-Aware Distributed Detection of a Non-cooperative Target

Abstract: This work investigates Distributed Detection (DD) in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), where spatially distributed sensors transmit binary decisions over a shared flat-fading channel. To enhance fusion efficiency, a reconfigurable metasurface is positioned in the near-field of a few receive antennas, enabling a holographic architecture that harnesses large-aperture gains with minimal RF hardware. A generalized likelihood ratio test is derived for fixed metasurface settings, and two low-complexity joint design strategies are proposed to optimize both fusion and metasurface configuration. These suboptimal schemes achieve a balance between performance, complexity, and system knowledge. The goal is to ensure reliable detection of a localized phenomenon at the fusion center, under energy-efficient constraints aligned with IoT requirements. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed holographic fusion, even under simplified designs.