The surfaces that will rewrite wireless reality

The paper, The 2026 Roadmap on Wireless and Microwave Metasurfaces, led by Professor Akram Alomainy in the Centre for Electronics, at Queen Mary University of London brings together leading researchers from universities, industry and government to map how engineered surfaces could reshape communications, healthcare and defence.

At the heart of the roadmap is a powerful shift in thinking. Rather than treating the wireless environment as unpredictable and passive, metasurfaces allow engineers to actively shape it. These ultra thin patterned surfaces can bend, focus and redirect radio waves in ways conventional materials cannot. The result is a future where walls, buildings and everyday infrastructure become active participants in wireless networks.

Professor Alomainy said: "Wireless systems have always been designed to cope with the environment. What metasurfaces offer is the ability to design the environment itself. This roadmap shows how that change in mindset could unlock entirely new levels of performance, efficiency and societal impact."

His leadership of the roadmap highlights the strength and global reach of research at Queen Mary University of London. The work reflects QMUL's long standing excellence in electromagnetics and wireless technologies, and its growing influence on international research agendas that bridge fundamental science, industry needs and public benefit.

The roadmap shows how metasurfaces could play a central role in networks beyond 5G. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces can steer signals around obstacles, improve coverage in dense urban areas and remote regions, and do so using very low power. Instead of relying solely on increasingly complex base stations, the physical environment itself becomes part of the network.

The impact extends far beyond faster mobile connectivity. The paper outlines how metasurfaces could enable contact free healthcare monitoring, supporting the measurement of vital signs within homes and hospitals. In defence and security, they offer new ways to control radar signatures and enhance sensing. At higher frequencies linked to future 6G systems, metasurfaces could support ultra high data rates and advanced imaging and sensing capabilities.

Importantly, the roadmap also confronts the challenges ahead. Issues such as large scale manufacturing, long term reliability, system integration and regulation are addressed head on. The authors emphasise that progress will depend on close collaboration across disciplines, from materials science and electronics to computer science, industry and policy.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning emerge as key enablers, helping to design complex metasurfaces and control them in real time. The roadmap also points to new materials, including flexible and biocompatible options, alongside a strong focus on sustainability and responsible deployment.

More than a review of the field, this roadmap is a call to action. It signals that metasurfaces are moving from laboratory concepts to technologies with real world impact. As Professor Alomainy noted, "The next generation of wireless systems will not just be smarter. They will be shaped by the very surfaces around us."

Read the full paper here:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6463/ae2b7c