  Metamaterials are artificial structures which have recently enabled the
realization of novel electromagnetic components with engineered and even
unnatural functionalities. Existing metamaterials are specifically designed for
a single application working under preset conditions (e.g. electromagnetic
cloaking for a fixed angle of incidence) and cannot be reused. Software-Defined
Metamaterials (SDMs) are a much sought-after paradigm shift, exhibiting
electromagnetic properties that can be reconfigured at runtime using a set of
software primitives. To enable this new technology, SDMs require the
integration of a network of controllers within the structure of the
metamaterial, where each controller interacts locally and communicates globally
to obtain the programmed behavior. The design approach for such controllers and
the interconnection network, however, remains unclear due to the unique
combination of constraints and requirements of the scenario. To bridge this
gap, this paper aims to provide a context analysis from the computation and
communication perspectives. Then, analogies are drawn between the SDM scenario
and other applications both at the micro and nano scales, identifying possible
candidates for the implementation of the controllers and the intra-SDM network.
Finally, the main challenges of SDMs related to computing and communications
are outlined.

Emerging Technologies