Enhancing Industrial 4.0 Connectivity: A D2D-Based Algorithm for Blind Spot Mitigation in 5G Future Networks Enabled Smart Industry

The Industry 4.0 is characterized by the integration of advanced and emerging technologies such as Fifth Generation (5G) and Next-Generation Networks & beyond, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet-of- Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), Robotics, Automation, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and many others. Despite the widespread adoption of 5G, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) routers, and other wireless technologies in the industry, there are still areas with limited or no coverage, commonly known as blind spots or coverage holes. The Device-to-Device (D2D) communication enables direct communication without a central entity, known as a coordinator or base station. By leveraging D2D communication, IoT nodes can serve as relays to deal with blind spots. In this research, we propose a novel D2D communication-based algorithm to cope with the challenge of blind spots in IoT -based smart industries. The algorithm focuses on nodes situated in blind spots by establishing connections to the network through nearby IoT nodes that function as relays. We demonstrate through simulations that our approach can effectively remove blind spots, improve coverage, increase throughput, and enhance overall system efficiency.