Toward the Metaverse Realization in 6G: Orchestration of RIS-Enabled Smart Wireless Environments via Digital Twins

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) represent an emerging technology envisioned to overcome some of the late challenges for the development of the sixth-generation (6G) such as reduced end-to-end communication latency and improved network reliability compared to 5G. In particular, in addition to its cost effectiveness and energy saving features, this technology has motivated a proliferation of studies regarding its capability of improving the propagation environments in terms of enhanced received signal. In addition, digital twins (DTs) are receiving remarkable attention for the development and maintenance of various future network services. This article discusses the complimentarity of these emerging concepts for the efficient realization of the metaverse in 6G networks. Specifically, it considers how a DT-aided RIS-based network architecture can provide substantial improvements towards the achievement of network latency and reliability necessary for the realization of metaverse in 6G. A brief overview of the latest status in the RIS and DT technologies is firstly provided, which is followed by a discussion on the potential use cases and services that can be delivered through a DT-aided RIS-based network architecture. The benefits of this architecture, in terms of communication latency, is validated through a representative simulation setup. Finally, challenges and future research directions with the proposed DT's role for RIS-enabled smart wireless environments.