Toward Industry 5.0: Intelligent Reflecting Surface in Smart Manufacturing

Industry 5.0 envisions close cooperation between humans and machines requiring ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). The intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) has the potential to play a crucial role in realizing wireless URLLC for Industry 5.0. IRS is forecast to be a key enabler of 6G wireless communication networks as it can significantly improve wireless network performance by creating a controllable radio environment. In this article, we first provide an over-view of IRS technology and then conceptualize the potential for IRS implementation in a future smart manufacturing environment to support the emergence of Industry 5.0 with a series of applications. Finally, to stimulate future research in this area, we discuss the strength, open challenges, and opportunities of IRS technology in modern smart manufacturing.