Advancements in RIS-Assisted UAV for Empowering Multiaccess Edge Computing: A Survey

作者：Manzoor Ahmed, Aized Amin Soofi, Salman Raza, Feroz Khan, Shabeer Ahmad, Wali Ullah Khan, Muhammad Asif, Fang Xu, Zhu Han · 发表于：IEEE Internet of Things Journal · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1109/jiot.2025.3527041 · 被引用次数：46 · 研究领域：IoT and Edge/Fog Computing、UAV Applications and Optimization

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become essential in advancing multi-access edge computing (MEC), providing flexible platforms that enhance network capacity, coverage, and efficiency while reducing latency and improving communication quality. Integrating reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) with UAV-based MEC systems further elevates these capabilities, delivering significant gains in computational power, energy efficiency (EE), and physical layer security (PLS). However, managing the complexity of RIS within UAV networks requires sophisticated optimization strategies. This survey offers a comprehensive analysis of the fundamentals of RIS, UAVs, and MEC, followed by an in-depth examination of RIS configurations in UAV-based MEC systems, including static, dynamic, and hybrid models. We evaluate the benefits and challenges of RIS integration, such as improved communication, enhanced computational efficiency, optimized energy use, better task management, and strengthened security. In addition, the survey explores the latest advancements in RIS-assisted UAVs for MEC, focusing on boosting computational capacity, minimizing delay, maximizing EE, and enhancing security. To provide a thorough exploration of these topics, detailed summary tables are included, offering a comparative analysis of methodologies, performance metrics, and scenarios from recent studies. Furthermore, the survey presents key lessons learned from current research and identifies future research directio...