Towards 6G Holographic Localization: Enabling Technologies and Perspectives

In the last years, we have experienced the evolution of wireless localization from being a simple add-on feature for enabling specific applications, to becoming an essential characteristic of wireless cellular networks, as for sixth generation cellular networks. This perspective paper will revolve around the role of radio localization in all the cellular generations, from first generation to 6G, and it speculates about the idea of holographic localization enabled by the advent of large intelligent surfaces, made of metamaterials. Along this line, we briefly introduce the current state-of-the-art of the available technologies, and we illustrate the road ahead with the inherent challenges brought by this new technology.