Base station supporting multi-RIS communication and method of operating the base station

1 . A base station comprising:

a network communication interface configured to perform communication with at least one of one or more user terminals and one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces; one or more processors; and

a memory storing one or more programs, wherein the one or more processors are connected to the network communication interface and the memory and are configured to execute the one or more programs to determine a matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that maximizes a sum of data rates for the one or more user terminals connected through the network communication interface, on/off states of one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, total power consumption, and a phase value of the one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces,

wherein the matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces indicate whether or not the base station uses each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in performing at least one of transmitting and receiving signals to and from each of one or more user terminals, and wherein in the case of a reconfigurable intelligent surface with the one or more user terminals matched among the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, at least one reflective element is assigned to each of one or more matched user terminals to be in an on state.

2 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein the total power consumption is a sum of transmission power of the base station, circuit power consumption of the base station, circuit power consumption of each of the one or more user terminals, and circuit power consumption of each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

3 . The base station of claim 2 , wherein the transmission power of the base station is a sum of power for transmitting signals from the base station to the one or more user terminals, and the transmission power of the base station is less than or equal to a maximum transmission power of the base station.

4 . The base station of claim 2 , wherein the circuit power consumption of each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces includes power consumed by the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces consume for phase conversion.

5 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein each of the data rates for the one or more user terminals is greater than or equal to a minimum data rate.

6 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that maximize the sum of data rates for the one or more user terminals connected through the network communication interface, the on/off states of one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, the total power consumption, and the phase value of the one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, by using deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and convex optimization.

7 . A method of operating a base station that includes one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors, and a network communication interface configured to communicate with one or more user terminals through one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, the method comprising:

determining the one or more user terminals with which to perform communication; and

determining a matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that maximizes a sum of data rates for the one or more user terminals, on/off states of one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, total power consumption, and a phase value of the one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces,

wherein the matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces indicate whether or not the base station uses each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in performing at least one of transmitting and receiving signals to and from each of one or more user terminals, and wherein in the case of a reconfigurable intelligent surface with the one or more user terminals matched among the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, at least one reflective element is assigned to each of one or more matched user terminals to be in an on state.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the total power consumption is a sum of transmission power of the base station, circuit power consumption of the base station, circuit power consumption of each of the one or more user terminals, and circuit power consumption of each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the transmission power of the base station is a sum of power for transmitting signals from the base station to the one or more user terminals, and the transmission power of the base station is less than or equal to a maximum transmission power of the base station.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the circuit power consumption of each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces includes power consumed by the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces consume for phase conversion.

11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein each of the data rates for the one or more user terminals is greater than or equal to a minimum data rate.

12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein, in the determining, the matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that maximize the sum of data rates for the one or more user terminals connected through the network communication interface, the on/off states of one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, the total power consumption, and the phase value of the one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces are determined, by using deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and convex optimization.

13 . Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program including one or more instructions that, when executed by a computing device including one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform:

determining one or more user terminals with which to perform communication; and

determining a matching state of one or more user terminals and one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that maximize a sum of data rates for the one or more user terminals, on/off states of one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, total power consumption, and a phase value of the one or more reflective elements included in the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces,

wherein the matching state of the one or more user terminals and the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces indicate whether or not a base station uses each of the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in performing at least one of transmitting and receiving signals to and from each of one or more user terminals, and wherein in the case of a reconfigurable intelligent surface with the one or more user terminals matched among the one or more reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, at least one reflective element is assigned to each of one or more matched user terminals to be in an on state.