RISENSE: Long-Range In-Band Wireless Control of Passive Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) are a promising technology for creating smart radio environments by controlling wireless propagation. However, several factors hinder the integration of RIS technology into existing cellular networks, including the incompatibility of RIS control interfaces with 5G PHY/MAC procedures for synchronizing radio scheduling decisions and RIS operation, and the cost and energy limitations of passive RIS technology. This paper presents RISENSE, a system for practical RIS integration in cellular networks. First, we propose a novel, low-cost, and low-power RIS design capable of decoding control messages without complex baseband operations or additional RF chains, utilizing a power sensor and a network of microstrip lines and couplers. Second, we design an effective in-band wireless RIS control interface, compatible with 5G PHY/MAC procedures, that embeds amplitude-modulated (AM) RIS control commands directly into standard OFDM-modulated 5G data channels. Finally, we propose a low-overhead protocol that supports swift on-demand RIS re-configurability, making it adaptable to varying channel conditions and user mobility, while minimizing the wastage of 5G OFDM symbols. Our experiments validate the design of RISENSE and our evaluation shows that our system can re-configure a RIS at the same pace as users move, boosting 5G coverage where static or slow RIS controllers cannot.