A Software-Defined Multi-Element VLC Architecture

In the modern era of radio frequency (RF) spectrum crunch, visible light communication (VLC) is a recent and promising alternative technology that operates at the visible light spectrum. Thanks to its unlicensed and large bandwidth, VLC can deliver high throughput, better energy efficiency, and low cost data communications. In this article, a hybrid RF/VLC architecture is considered that can simultaneously provide light- ing and communication coverage across a room. Considered architecture involves a novel multi-element hemispherical bulb design, which can transmit multiple data streams over light emitting diode (LED) modules. Simulations considering various VLC transmitter configurations and topologies show that good link quality and high spatial reuse can be maintained in typical indoor communication scenarios

Cell-centric and user-centric multi-user scheduling in visible light communication aided networks

Visible Light Communication (VLC) combined withadvanced illumination has been expected to become an integralpart of next generation heterogeneous networks at the time ofwriting, by inspiring further research interests. From both theCell-Centric (CC) and the User-Centric (UC) perspectives, variousVLC cell formations, ranging from fixed-shape regular cellswith different Frequency Reuse (FR) patterns and merged cellsemploying advanced transmission scheme to amorphous userspecificcells are investigated. Furthermore, different Multi-UserScheduling (MUS) algorithms achieving Proportional Fairness(PF) are implemented according to different cell formations.By analysing some critical and unique characteristics of VLC,our simulation results demonstrate that, the proposed MUSalgorithms are capable of providing a high aggregate throughputand achieving modest fairness with low complexity in most of thescenarios considered.<br/

Robust Cooperative Multicarrier Transmission Scheme for Optical Wireless Cellular Networks

Visible light communication (VLC) is a promising technology to achieve high data rates in heterogeneous scenarios. However, VLC strongly depends on the existence of a line-of-sight (LoS) link between transmitter and receiver to guarantee a good data rate performance, which is often a condition that is difficult to satisfy in practice. In this letter, a novel cooperative multicarrier transmission scheme is proposed, where neighboring attocells smartly cooperate to decrease the probability of blockage in the LoS link. This approach is compared to single-cell transmission schemes, obtaining notable gains in both received signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and cell data rate when blockage of the LoS link occurs toward the nearest base station.This work was supported in part by the Catalan Government under Grant 2014SGR1567 and in part by the Spanish Government under the National Project "ELISA" with ID TEC2014-59255-C3-3/1-R. The work of B. Genovés Guzmán was supported in part by the Spanish MECD FPU Fellowship Program

Light-Fidelity as Next Generation Network Technology: A Bibliometric Survey and Analysis

This paper delivers a systematic review and a bibliometric survey analysis of Light-Fidelity (Li-Fi) indoor implementation in Next Generation Network (NGN). The main objective of this study is to design a communication network based on NGN-Li-Fi for the indoor implementation which aims to increase user Quality of Service (QoS). The main merits and contributions of this study are the thorough and detailed analysis of the review, both in literature surveys and bibliometric analysis, as well as the discussion of the implementation model challenges of Li-Fi in both indoor and outdoor environments. The issue articulated in an indoor communication network is the possibility of intermittent connectivity due to barriers caused by line-of-sight (LOS) between the LED transmitter and receiver, handover due to channel overlap, and other network reliability issues. To realize the full potential and significant benefits of the Next Generation Network, challenges in indoor communication such as load-balancing and anticipating network congestion (traffic congestion) must be addressed. The main benefit of this study is the in-depth investigation of surveys in both selected critical literatures and bibliometric approach. This study seeks to comprehend the implications of Next Generation networks for indoor communication networks, particularly for visible light communication channels

Lights and Shadows: A Comprehensive Survey on Cooperative and Precoding Schemes to Overcome LOS Blockage and Interference in Indoor VLC

Visible light communications (VLC) have received significant attention as a way of moving part of the saturated indoor wireless traffic to the wide and unregulated visible optical spectrum. Nowadays, VLC are considered as a suitable technology, for several applications such as high-rate data transmission, supporting internet of things communications or positioning. The signal processing originally derived from radio-frequency (RF) systems such as cooperative or precoding schemes can be applied to VLC. However, its implementation is not straightforward. Furthermore, unlike RF transmission, VLC present a predominant line-of-sight link, although a weak non-LoS component may appear due to the reflection of the light on walls, floor, ceiling and nearby objects. Blocking effects may compromise the performance of the aforementioned transmission schemes. There exist several surveys in the literature focused on VLC and its applications, but the management of the shadowing and interference in VLC requires a comprehensive study. To fill this gap, this work introduces the implementation of cooperative and precoding schemes to VLC, while remarking their benefits and drawbacks for overcoming the shadowing effects. After that, the combination of both cooperative and precoding schemes is analyzed as a way of providing resilient VLC networks. Finally, we propose several open issues that the cooperative and precoding schemes must face in order to provide satisfactory VLC performance in indoor scenarios.This work has been supported partially by Spanish National Project TERESA-ADA(TEC2017-90093-C3-2-R) (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE), the research project GEOVEOLUZ-CM-UC3Mfunded by the call “Programa de apoyo a la realización de proyectos interdisciplinares de I+D parajóvenes investigadores de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2019-2020” under the frame ofthe Convenio Plurianual Comunidad de Madrid-Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and projectMadrid Flight on Chip (Innovation Cooperative Projects Comunidad of Madrid - HUBS 2018/MadridFlightOnChip). Additionally, it has been supported partially by the Juan de la CiervaIncorporación grant IJC2019-040317-I and Juan de la Cierva Formación grant (FJC2019-039541-I/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)