LIVE-RIS: Real-Time In-Flight Actuation of UAV-Mounted RIS

David Müller, Kevin Weinberger, Aydin Sezgin, Martin Mönnigmann

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) are emerging as a key technology for sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks due to their ability to dynamically control the propagation environment. To ensure favorable Line-of-Sight (LoS) conditions in real-world applications, the RIS is mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). While the potential of UAV-mounted RIS has been extensively studied in theoretical works, experimental validation with real-world data remains limited. Such validation is particularly important, as UAV motion and disturbances may degrade the performance of the RIS-enabled link. In this paper, we present the first fully functional, real-time capable UAV-mounted RIS prototype and validate its performance through experimental measurements under realistic disturbances and hardware constraints. We show that the RIS pose can be predicted based on the UAV's extended Kalman filter (EKF) and onboard sensors. By utilizing this estimation, we demonstrate that the RIS can be reconfigured in real time, effectively mitigating disturbance effects and preserving the performance gains of the RIS-enabled link. Furthermore, we systematically evaluate different deployment locations to provide insights into RIS performance in real-world scenarios.