The recent developments in the field of wireless communication systems have seen a significant shift towards leveraging near-field communications and large-scale antenna arrays. Researchers are increasingly focusing on optimizing the spatial multiplexing capabilities of these arrays, particularly under line-of-sight and near-field conditions. This trend is driven by the need to enhance spectral efficiency and overcome the limitations imposed by traditional far-field assumptions. The use of holographic approximations and continuous aperture arrays is emerging as a key strategy to maximize the performance of these systems. Additionally, the integration of intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) and metamaterial-inspired absorbers is being explored to improve data rates and energy efficiency in simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) systems. These innovations are paving the way for more efficient and secure wireless communications, particularly in high-frequency bands and non-stationary channel environments. Notably, the development of physics-compliant models for multi-RIS aided systems and the optimization of beamforming strategies for continuous aperture arrays are areas that promise substantial advancements in the near future.

Noteworthy Papers:

• The study on the spatial multiplexing capabilities of large multi-antenna configurations under near-field conditions provides insightful analysis on maximizing spectral efficiency.
• The exploration of near-field beamspace for extremely large-scale MIMO systems offers a novel perspective on enhancing communication performance in near-field regions.
• The design of a metamaterial-inspired absorber for SWIPT systems demonstrates significant improvements in data rate and isolation performance.
• The novel training-free energy beam focusing approach for near-field WPT systems with ELAA presents a promising solution for non-stationary channels.
• The investigation into IRS-aided near-field communication with a codebook approach highlights the potential of beamfocusing in expanding IRS applications.