Empowering Vehicle Connectivity—The SOTA and Future Prospects of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces in Mobile Communications: A Review

The development of intelligent connectivity within automotive systems holds significant promise for mobile communications, with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) emerging as a crucial technological advancement that presents novel prospects in this domain. This article provides an overview of the present status of intelligent vehicles and mobile communications, exploring the evolving landscape of RIS technology and highlighting its significance when integrated into intelligent vehicle systems. It further investigates the key technologies providing support for RIS, including beamforming, reconfigurability, intelligent algorithms, and energy efficiency, while also demonstrating its diverse applications across vehicular, drone, marine communication, and Internet of Things (IoT) domains. Moreover, it discusses the present achievements and challenges and expects future directions in RIS material research, alongside potential applications and challenges in automotive, drone, marine communication, and IoT sectors.