A Survey of Positioning Systems Using Visible LED Lights

© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.As Global Positioning System (GPS) cannot provide satisfying performance in indoor environments, indoor positioning technology, which utilizes indoor wireless signals instead of GPS signals, has grown rapidly in recent years. Meanwhile, visible light communication (VLC) using light devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been deemed to be a promising candidate in the heterogeneous wireless networks that may collaborate with radio frequencies (RF) wireless networks. In particular, light-fidelity has a great potential for deployment in future indoor environments because of its high throughput and security advantages. This paper provides a comprehensive study of a novel positioning technology based on visible white LED lights, which has attracted much attention from both academia and industry. The essential characteristics and principles of this system are deeply discussed, and relevant positioning algorithms and designs are classified and elaborated. This paper undertakes a thorough investigation into current LED-based indoor positioning systems and compares their performance through many aspects, such as test environment, accuracy, and cost. It presents indoor hybrid positioning systems among VLC and other systems (e.g., inertial sensors and RF systems). We also review and classify outdoor VLC positioning applications for the first time. Finally, this paper surveys major advances as well as open issues, challenges, and future research directions in VLC positioning systems.Peer reviewe

High-Speed Visible Light Indoor Networks Based on Optical Orthogonal Codes and Combinatorial Designs

Interconnecting devices in an indoor environment using the illumination system and white light emitting diodes (LED) requires adaptive networking techniques that can provide network access for multiple users. Two techniques based on multilevel signaling and optical orthogonal codes (OOC) are explored in this paper in order to provide simultaneous multiple access in an indoor multiuser network. Balanced incomplete block designs (BIBD) are used to construct multilevel symbols for M-ary signaling. Using these multilevel symbols we are able to control the optical peak to average power ratio (PAPR) in the system, and hereby control the dimming level. In the first technique, the M-ary data of each user is first encoded using the OOC codeword that is assigned to that user, and then it is fed into a BIBD encoder to generate a multilevel signal. The second multiple access method uses sub-sets of a BIBD code to apply multilevel expurgated pulse-position modulation (MEPPM) to the data of each user. While the first approach has a larger Hamming distance between the symbols of each user, the latter can provide higher bit-rates for users in VLC systems with bandwidth-limited LEDs

Optical boundaries for LED-based indoor positioning system

Overlap of footprints of light emitting diodes (LEDs) increases the positioning accuracy of wearable LED indoor positioning systems (IPS) but such an approach assumes that the footprint boundaries are defined. In this work, we develop a mathematical model for defining the footprint boundaries of an LED in terms of a threshold angle instead of the conventional half or full angle. To show the effect of the threshold angle, we compare how overlaps and receiver tilts affect the performance of an LED-based IPS when the optical boundary is defined at the threshold angle and at the full angle. Using experimental measurements, simulations, and theoretical analysis, the effect of the defined threshold angle is estimated. The results show that the positional time when using the newly defined threshold angle is 12 times shorter than the time when the full angle is used. When the effect of tilt is considered, the threshold angle time is 22 times shorter than the full angle positioning time. Regarding accuracy, it is shown in this work that a positioning error as low as 230 mm can be obtained. Consequently, while the IPS gives a very low positioning error, a defined threshold angle reduces delays in an overlap-based LED IPS

Application of Expurgated PPM to Indoor Visible Light Communications - Part II: Access Networks

Providing network access for multiple users in a visible light communication (VLC) system that utilizes white light emitting diodes (LED) as sources requires new networking techniques adapted to the lighting features. In this paper we introduce two multiple access techniques using expurgated PPM (EPPM) that can be implemented using LEDs and support lighting features such as dimming. Multilevel symbols are used to provide M-ary signaling for multiple users using multilevel EPPM (MEPPM). Using these multiple-access schemes we are able to control the optical peak to average power ratio (PAPR) in the system, and hereby control the dimming level. In the first technique, the M-ary data of each user is first encoded using an optical orthogonal code (OOC) assigned to the user, and the result is fed into a EPPM encoder to generate a multilevel signal. The second multiple access method uses sub-sets of the EPPM constellation to apply MEPPM to the data of each user. While the first approach has a larger Hamming distance between the symbols of each user, the latter can provide higher bit-rates for users in VLC systems using bandwidth-limited LEDs.Comment: Journal of Lightwave Technology. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1308.074

Indoor Visible Light Communication:A Tutorial and Survey

Abstract With the advancement of solid-state devices for lighting, illumination is on the verge of being completely restructured. This revolution comes with numerous advantages and viable opportunities that can transform the world of wireless communications for the better. Solid-state LEDs are rapidly replacing the contemporary incandescent and fluorescent lamps. In addition to their high energy efficiency, LEDs are desirable for their low heat generation, long lifespan, and their capability to switch on and off at an extremely high rate. The ability of switching between different levels of luminous intensity at such a rate has enabled the inception of a new communication technology referred to as visible light communication (VLC). With this technology, the LED lamps are additionally being used for data transmission. This paper provides a tutorial and a survey of VLC in terms of the design, development, and evaluation techniques as well as current challenges and their envisioned solutions. The focus of this paper is mainly directed towards an indoor setup. An overview of VLC, theory of illumination, system receivers, system architecture, and ongoing developments are provided. We further provide some baseline simulation results to give a technical background on the performance of VLC systems. Moreover, we provide the potential of incorporating VLC techniques in the current and upcoming technologies such as fifth-generation (5G), beyond fifth-generation (B5G) wireless communication trends including sixth-generation (6G), and intelligent reflective surfaces (IRSs) among others