Discussion on intelligent reflecting surface technology and its application in wireless blind spot coverage in coal mines

The existing wireless communication technologies in wireless blind spot coverage have challenges in non-line-of-sight scenarios in coal mines. In order to solve the above problems, a solution approach is proposed to introduce intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) into the wireless communication system in coal mines to achieve blind compensation of wireless signal coverage. This paper analyzes the causes of wireless coverage blind spots in coal mines, including closed mine environments characteristics, common non-line-of-sight scenarios, and safety constraints on transmission power and antenna settings. However, traditional wireless coverage blind spot solutions for underground coal mines have limitations in hardware deployment, maintenance costs, and technical implementation. They cannot truly meet safe and efficient communication needs of specific mining scenarios. IRS has significant performance advantages in achieving coverage blind compensation due to its low cost, low power consumption, easy deployment, and scalability. This paper introduces IRS technology from three aspects: hardware structure, auxiliary channel model and typical application scenarios (precise positioning, signal and energy simultaneous transmission, UAV communication, edge computing and physical layer security). This paper proposes the use of IRS technology to optimize underground wireless blind spot coverage. By deploying IRS reasonably in coal mines, it reduces the absorption and scattering of main signal components by walls, and utilizes the adjustable reflection characteristics of IRS to optimize signal propagation. It significantly improves signal strength and coverage range. The future research directions of IRS technology in underground wireless communication in coal mines are pointed out. The directions include energy management of IRS-aided coverage and blind compensation systems, IRS-aided underground communication based on artificial intelligence, application of new IRS technology, and flexible deployment of IRS.