This paper investigates channel-aware decision fusion empowered by massive MIMO systems and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS). By integrating both, we aim to improve goal-oriented (fusion) performance despite the unique propagation challenges introduced. Specifically, we investigate traditional favorable propagation properties in the context of RIS-aided Massive MIMO decision fusion. The above analysis is then leveraged (i) to design three sub-optimal simple fusion rules suited for the large-array regime and (ii) to devise an optimization criterion for RIS reflection coefficients based on long-term channel statistics. Simulation results confirm the appeal of the presented design.
@article{arxiv.2602.23733,
title = {Massive MIMO Channel-aware Decision Fusion Aided by Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces},
author = {Domenico Ciuonzo and Alessio Zappone and Marco Di Renzo and Linlong Wu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.23733},
year = {2026}
}