Global standards body ETSI has launched an industry specification group (ISG) for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), a technology that’s expected to play a key 6G role.

RIS is a new type of system node that aims to leverage smart radio surfaces with thousands of small antennas or metamaterial elements to dynamically shape and control radio signals in a goal-oriented manner.

In practical terms, RIS will enable new use cases such as improving elderly care by...