LIVE-RIS: A Comprehensive In-Flight Dataset for UAV-Mounted RIS Channel Measurements

Abstract

The dynamic control of the wireless propagation environment enabled by reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) makes them a promising technology for sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. Beyond conventional fixed-position deployments, integrating a RIS with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) provides additional spatial flexibility, facilitating favorable Line-of-Sight (LoS) conditions and broadening the range of potential applications. Although UAV-mounted RIS systems have attracted significant research interest, existing studies rely predominantly on numerical simulations and often overlook the impact of practical constraints and real-world disturbances. To address this gap, the authors recently presented the first UAV-mounted RIS prototype and experimentally validated its feasibility through real-world experiments. By using the UAV's extended Kalman Filter (EKF) for real-time RIS reconfiguration, the proposed system effectively mitigates disturbance effects and preserves the performance gains of the RIS-enabled link. To further advance UAV-mounted RIS research and facilitate broader access to real-world experimental insights, this work provides a comprehensive dataset collected from multiple flight experiments. The dataset includes EKF state estimates, ground-truth measurements, corresponding RIS configurations, and S21 channel data.