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Victoria Bela

Chinese scientists have developed a smart surface that could transform electromagnetic waves into usable electricity.
The innovation, born from the fusion of communications technology and advanced electromagnetic engineering, could be used to develop intelligent stealth systems and next-generation 6G wireless communication, according to the team from Xidian University.
They said this included investigating “electromagnetic cooperative stealth”, where multiple entities work together to reduce their visibility to radar and electromagnetic sensors.
The self-sustaining electronic system integrates wireless information transfer and energy harvesting and has the potential to upend the dynamics of electronic warfare.
Instead of evading enemy surveillance, future stealth aircraft could instead use radar beams as a source of power and communication.
The technology may also give China an advantage in the development of next-generation 6G technology, including communication satellites.
The research team added that the study “establishes a new mechanism for investigating wavefront manipulation and electromagnetic cooperative stealth”.


By incorporating sensing, communication and power into one hardware platform, the device could allow for a range of advanced applications while reducing eavesdropping and interference.
“Ultimately, it is expected to have a broad impact on 6G communications, the Internet of Things, intelligent stealth and other related fields,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal National Science Review last month.
Many scientists say that a key area for next-generation wireless communications will be the transmission channel.
Many of the existing efforts to develop 6G wireless communication are centred around reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), a two-dimensional reflecting surface.
RIS works by having many small elements that are individually controllable, allowing for wireless signals to be manipulated to improve signal strength and security, extend coverage and limit interference.
Some predict 6G will blur the lines between the physical and digital world, enabling advanced applications such as holograms; digital twins, which are virtual replicas of physical objects; and the Internet of Things, which connects objects to each other or the internet to exchange data.
The US and China are in a race to deploy data centres in space to power artificial intelligence, which could be used to enable 6G wireless connectivity.
According to a paper published in the IEEE Internet of Things Magazine last year, RIS could also be used in anti-jamming technology, unmanned aerial vehicle communication and radio surveillance – all of which are difficult to do using older optimisation tools.

The authors from Fudan University, the University of Sydney and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation said that, along with artificial intelligence, this could improve security for air-to-ground Internet of Things objects.
RIS could also create intentional dead radio zones to minimise interference and prevent eavesdropping, according to the German electronics group Rohde & Schwarz.
The technology is even being considered for satellite-to-ground communication, because it could be used to reflect or redirect signals around obstacles, according to the European Space Agency.
The latest paper by the Xidian University team said RIS could be a “powerful solution” for wireless communication networks because of its low cost, programmability and ease of deployment.
But for 6G wireless communication, RIS needs both communication and sensing capabilities – which involves integrating data transmission and radar functions – on a single hardware platform to reduce cost and optimise resource allocation.
To do this, researchers will have to find a way to combine technology that controls both scattered electromagnetic and radiated waves. The researchers said an electromagnetic all-in-one radiation-scattering RIS could help overcome this challenge.


“This achieves significant savings in physical space and cost while ensuring multifunctionality across diverse application scenarios,” the team said.
The RIS system could also work in a receiver mode to harvest wireless energy to be used to power the metasurface itself or charge other electronic devices, the paper added.
It could be used for line-of-sight wireless communication, where there is a direct, unobstructed path between a transmitter and receiver, as well as non-line-of-sight wireless communication, in which there is no direct visual link due to physical barriers like buildings.
The proposed RIS “stands out as the optimal low-cost design” for integrated communication and sensing.
“In the future, this architecture could enable the development of environment-adaptive integrated sensing and communication systems, micro base stations and relay integrated systems, as well as self-powered sensing systems,” the team said.


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The development could given China an edge in the development of 6G technology. Photo: Shutterstock 

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China

The technology could help power future communications systems and shift the dynamics of electronic warfare, team says


The technology could help power future communications systems and shift the dynamics of electronic warfare, team says.


Chinese 6G smart surface could allow stealth jets to turn radar into a power source

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The technology could help power future communications systems and shift the dynamics of electronic warfare, team says

The technology could help power future communications systems and shift the dynamics of electronic warfare, team says