Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-aided near-field communications are investigated. First, the necessity of investigating RIS-aided near-field communications and the advantages brought about by the unique spherical wave-based near-field propagation are discussed. Then, the family of patch array-based RISs and metasurface-based RISs is introduced along with respective … [Read more...] about Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface-Aided Near-Field Communications for 6G: Opportunities and Challenges