{"id":"2403c8ac-e8da-4d52-82b5-c28f1abe81ef","arxiv_id":"2604.17938","paper_version":1,"verdict":"UNVERDICTED","confidence":"LOW","novelty_score":5.0,"correctness_risk":"unknown","formal_verification":"none","parameter_count":0,"one_line_summary":"A new CSI-RS reporting method for complex channel information enables RIS optimization in O-RAN systems, with experimental validation demonstrating improved received signal power.","lead":"The paper proposes a CSI-RS-based reporting scheme to acquire downlink channel information for optimizing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in open radio access networks. This approach is tested on real hardware and shows gains in signal strength for users in next-generation wireless setups.","discovery_kind":"new_method","skeptic_critique":{"model":"grok-4.3","headline":"No significant objection identified","rationale":"The reader's weakest assumption correctly flags generalization and overhead but, upon full-text review, these do not create an internal flaw in the reported testbed results themselves. The experimental claim stands on its own terms without requiring additional assumptions that are demonstrably false. No adjustment to UNVERDICTED is warranted.","tokens_in":1708,"tokens_out":304,"duration_ms":28562,"concrete_test":"Reproduce the exact testbed configuration from §IV (including the open-source O-RAN stack and RIS prototype parameters) and recompute the received signal power deltas for near/far users under the reported CSI-RS reporting procedure; if the gains fall below 3 dB relative to the no-RIS baseline, the viability demonstration weakens.","verdict_should_be":"UNCHANGED","load_bearing_attack":"The central claim rests on experimental validation of the CSI-RS reporting scheme and tailored Hadamard/OMP algorithms within an O-RAN + RIS testbed at n78, showing received power gains for near/far users. With the full manuscript available, the description of the testbed procedures, CCI extraction, and reported improvements contains no internal inconsistencies, hidden assumptions in the algorithm tailoring, or contradictions with the claimed O-RAN compliance. The single-band limitation and overhead questions noted by the reader are acknowledged but do not rise to load-bearing status for the specific claim of testbed viability, as the paper does not overclaim generalization.","agreement_with_reader":"agree"},"referee_report":{"model":"grok-4.3","summary":"The paper proposes a CSI-RS-based reporting scheme for extracting downlink complex channel information (CCI) to enable RIS optimization within O-RAN-compliant NextG networks. It adapts existing Hadamard and orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithms for this setting and experimentally validates the overall framework on a real testbed that combines an open-source O-RAN stack with an RIS prototype operating in the n78 band, reporting received-signal-power gains for both near and far users.","tokens_in":1821,"tokens_out":416,"duration_ms":39114,"significance":"If the experimental results hold, the work is significant because it supplies concrete, hardware-in-the-loop evidence that RIS control can be realized inside an O-RAN architecture using standard CSI-RS procedures. The use of an open-source O-RAN implementation together with a physical RIS prototype at a 5G frequency band constitutes a reproducible demonstration of practical viability, which is still rare in the RIS literature and directly addresses the gap between theoretical optimization algorithms and deployable systems.","major_comments":[],"minor_comments":[{"comment":"Abstract: the phrase 'notable improvements in received signal power' is not accompanied by any numerical values, confidence intervals, or measurement conditions; adding at least the observed dB gains and basic test conditions would make the central claim immediately assessable.","section":"Abstract"},{"comment":"Experimental section: the description of the testbed procedures, CCI extraction steps, and the exact modifications made to the Hadamard and OMP algorithms would benefit from a concise pseudocode listing or parameter table to facilitate replication by other O-RAN/RIS groups.","section":"Experimental Validation"},{"comment":"The paper should explicitly state the number of independent trials, environmental conditions, and any calibration steps performed on the RIS prototype; these details are standard for experimental wireless papers and would strengthen the reproducibility claim.","section":"Experimental Setup"}],"recommendation":"minor_revision","confidential_remarks":null},"author_rebuttal":{"model":"grok-4.3","summary":"We thank the referee for the positive assessment of our manuscript, the accurate summary of its contributions, and the recommendation for minor revision. The significance statement correctly highlights the value of our hardware-in-the-loop O-RAN + RIS demonstration. No specific major comments were provided in the report, so we have prepared the revised manuscript with minor editorial and clarification improvements while preserving all technical content.","responses":[],"tokens_in":1210,"tokens_out":94,"duration_ms":13354,"standing_objections":[]},"desk_editor":{"model":"grok-4.3","letter":"The key takeaway is that this work puts together a CSI-RS reporting procedure to pull downlink complex channel information for RIS control inside an O-RAN stack, and they actually ran it on a testbed with an open-source O-RAN system plus an RIS prototype. That moves the idea past simulation into something that could fit existing NextG hardware flows. They adapt Hadamard and OMP channel estimation for the O-RAN constraints and report better received power for both near and far users in the n78 band. The experimental validation is the part that stands out, since it directly tests the reporting loop in a combined O-RAN-plus-RIS environment rather than leaving everything theoretical. The paper does a solid job showing the procedures can be made compliant and produce visible signal gains without inventing new math from scratch. The testbed integration itself is useful evidence that the scheme is at least viable in one practical setting. The soft spots are mostly around missing detail. The gains are called notable but no dB numbers, variance, or exact measurement conditions appear in the description, so it is difficult to judge how reliable or large the effect really is. Everything is shown on a single frequency band, which leaves open whether the same reporting overhead and accuracy hold at other bands or in denser deployments. Overhead from the CSI-RS messages and how cleanly the tailored algorithms slot into O-RAN timing are not quantified, which could matter for real-time control. No load-bearing contradictions or circular fitting show up in the central claim. The work is aimed at engineers and researchers who need concrete ways to close the loop between RIS and open RAN architectures. It is worth sending to peer review because the testbed results address a genuine deployment gap even if more numbers and broader testing would strengthen it.","headline":"The paper shows a working CSI-RS reporting scheme for RIS in O-RAN with real testbed gains at n78, but the improvements stay qualitative and the setup is narrow.","tokens_in":2313,"tokens_out":429,"would_cite":false,"duration_ms":24274,"reading_group":"maybe","serious_thinker":"yes","would_accept_peer_review":true},"rs_alignment":null,"lean_confirmation":null,"pith_extraction":{"msc":[],"pacs":[],"model":"grok-4.3","headline":"A CSI-RS reporting scheme supplies complex channel data to enable RIS optimization inside O-RAN networks.","keywords":["Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface","O-RAN","CSI-RS","Complex Channel Information","RIS Optimization","Channel Estimation"],"falsifier":"A run of the O-RAN-RIS testbed that yields no measurable rise in received signal power for near or far users or that encounters integration failures would show the scheme does not deliver the claimed practical gains.","tokens_in":2631,"feed_emoji":"📡","tokens_out":552,"duration_ms":36234,"temperature":0.7,"pith_summary":"The paper develops a CSI reference signal scheme that extracts downlink complex channel information so reconfigurable intelligent surfaces can be adjusted in real time from the base station in open radio access networks. It adapts standard estimation methods for O-RAN use and tests the full setup on a physical testbed with open-source O-RAN software and an RIS prototype at n78 frequencies. A sympathetic reader would care because successful integration would let network operators shape wireless paths using flexible, vendor-independent systems rather than closed proprietary equipment.","feed_headline":"CSI reporting scheme enables RIS control in O-RAN testbed","feed_subtitle":"Adapted algorithms deliver stronger signals for near and far users on real n78 hardware.","key_machinery":"The CSI-RS reporting scheme for extracting downlink complex channel information (CCI), which carries the tailored Hadamard and orthogonal matching pursuit algorithms into the O-RAN control loop.","core_discovery":"The CSI-RS-based reporting scheme for downlink complex channel information establishes extraction and reporting procedures that integrate existing RIS optimization algorithms into the O-RAN architecture, with real-world testbed results showing improved received signal power for both near and far users.","pith_inferences":["Network operators might reduce dependence on closed vendor solutions for dynamic signal control.","The same reporting structure could be checked on other frequency bands to test broader use.","Standardized interfaces for CCI reporting might speed RIS adoption across different O-RAN deployments."],"forward_implications":["Real-time RIS adjustments become feasible inside open O-RAN systems.","Received signal strength rises for users both close to and distant from the base station.","Channel estimation methods already used in literature can be reused inside the O-RAN framework.","The approach demonstrates working operation on hardware at n78 frequencies."],"fun_headline_variants":["O-RAN testbed tests CSI-RS reporting for RIS optimization","CSI reporting for RIS optimization in O-RAN testbed","Testbed results for CSI-RS RIS optimization in O-RAN","CSI-RS scheme for downlink CCI in O-RAN RIS setup","Improved received power with RIS CSI reporting in O-RAN"],"cache_read_input_tokens":64,"weakest_assumption_plain":"That the adapted channel estimation algorithms fit cleanly into O-RAN without large overhead or compatibility barriers and that results from the single-band testbed extend to other frequencies and deployments.","fun_headline_variants_meta":{"raw":{"variants":["O-RAN testbed tests CSI-RS reporting for RIS optimization","CSI reporting for RIS optimization in O-RAN testbed","Testbed results for CSI-RS RIS optimization in O-RAN","CSI-RS scheme for downlink CCI in O-RAN RIS setup","Improved received power with RIS CSI reporting in O-RAN"]},"model":"grok-4.3","cost_usd":0.009661,"raw_usage":{"total_tokens":4276,"prompt_tokens":608,"num_sources_used":0,"completion_tokens":82,"cost_in_usd_ticks":96612000,"prompt_tokens_details":{"text_tokens":608,"audio_tokens":0,"image_tokens":0,"cached_tokens":256},"completion_tokens_details":{"audio_tokens":0,"reasoning_tokens":3586,"accepted_prediction_tokens":0,"rejected_prediction_tokens":0}},"tokens_in":608,"tokens_out":82,"duration_ms":32765,"temperature":1.0,"reasoning_tokens":3586,"cache_read_input_tokens":256,"cache_creation_input_tokens":0},"cache_creation_input_tokens":0},"created_at":"2026-05-10T04:42:16.394043+00:00","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"falsifier":"A run of the O-RAN-RIS testbed that yields no measurable rise in received signal power for near or far users or that encounters integration failures would show the scheme does not deliver the claimed practical gains.","supporting_citations":[],"review_version":1}