A Review of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface-Enhanced UAV Networks for Real-Time Applications

Abstract

The advancement of wireless networks has created a need for advanced solutions to support ultra-reliable, low-latency communication, especially in challenging environments. Combining Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has emerged as a promising approach to improving wireless performance in dynamic and obstructed environments. This paper offers a thorough review of RIS-enhanced UAV systems, emphasizing their use in real-time applications. We present a systematic review of the state of the art in RIS-UAV integration, addressing system models, performance metrics, optimization techniques, and key challenges. The paper also discusses three primary RIS deployment architectures: (i) drone-mounted RIS, (ii) ground-based RIS assisting UAVs, and (iii) hybrid UAV-RIS systems, and evaluates their performance in real-time applications. Furthermore, we propose future research directions, including AI-driven optimization, real-time communication requirements, energy efficiency, and standardization efforts to enable seamless integration of RIS-UAV systems in next-generation networks such as 5G, 6G, and beyond..