A path loss model for link budget analysis of indoor visible light communications

In the context of beyond 5G indoor communication systems, visible light communications (VLC) has emerged as a viable supplement for existing radio frequency based systems and as an enabler for high data rate communications. However, the existing indoor VLC systems are limited by detrimental outages caused by fluctuations in the VLC channel gain because of user mobility. In this study, we proposed a tractable path loss model for indoor VLC that reflects the effect of room size and coating material of surfaces. We performed an extensive advanced ray tracing simulation to obtain the channel impulse responses within a room and presented a path loss model as a function of distance, room size, and coating material through curve fitting. In addition, path loss parameters such as the path loss exponent and the standard deviation of the shadowing component were determined. The simulation results indicate that path loss is a linear function of distance, path loss exponent is a function of room size and coating material, and shadowing follows a log normal distribution.Publisher's Versio

Channel modeling and characterization for VLC-based medical body sensor networks: trends and challenges

Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) refers to transmission in unguided propagation media through the use of optical carriers, i.e., visible, Infrared (IR), and Ultraviolet (UV) bands. In this paper, we focus on indoor Visible Light Communication (VLC)-based Medical Body Sensor Networks (MBSNs) which allow the Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to communicate between on-body sensors/subdermal implants and on-body central hubs/monitoring devices while also serving as a luminaire. Since the Quality-of-Service (QoS) of the communication systems depends heavily on realistic channel modeling and characterization, this paper aims at presenting an up-to-date survey of works on channel modeling activities for MBSNs. The first part reviews existing IR-based MBSNs channel models based on which VLC channel models are derived. The second part of this review provides details on existing VLC-based MBSNs channel models according to the mobility of the MBSNs on the patient’s body. We also present a realistic channel modeling approach called site-specific ray tracing that considers the skin tissue for the MBSNs channel modeling for realistic hospital scenarios.Scientific Research Projects (BAP) (Grant Number: 20A204)Publisher's Versio

A review of recent innovations in remote health monitoring

The development of remote health monitoring systems has focused on enhancing healthcare services’ efficiency and quality, particularly in chronic disease management and elderly care. These systems employ a range of sensors and wearable devices to track patients’ health status and offer real-time feedback to healthcare providers. This facilitates prompt interventions and reduces hospitalization rates. The aim of this study is to explore the latest developments in the realm of remote health monitoring systems. In this paper, we explore a wide range of domains, spanning antenna designs, small implantable antennas, on-body wearable solutions, and adaptable detection and imaging systems. Our research also delves into the methodological approaches used in monitoring systems, including the analysis of channel characteristics, advancements in wireless capsule endoscopy, and insightful investigations into sensing and imaging techniques. These advancements hold the potential to improve the accuracy and efficiency of monitoring, ultimately contributing to enhanced health outcomes for patients.Publisher's VersionQ2WOS:001130630400001PMID:3813832

Cooperative Visible Light Communications With Full-Duplex Relaying

In this paper, we investigate cooperative visible light communication (VLC) system where an intermediate light source acts as a relay terminal. We assume that relay terminal operates in full-duplex mode. In contrast to radio frequency counterparts, full-duplex VLC terminal is relatively easier to implement due to directive propagation characteristic of light. We first model VLC relay terminal taking into account loop interference channel based on ray tracing simulations. Then, we investigate error rate performance of the relay-assisted VLC system. Our performance evaluations demonstrate the superiority of full-duplex relaying over half-duplex counterpart especially for high modulation sizes

ViLDAR - Visible Light Sensing Based Speed Estimation using Vehicle's Headlamps

The introduction of light emitting diodes (LED) in automotive exterior lighting systems provides opportunities to develop viable alternatives to conventional communication and sensing technologies. Most of the advanced driver-assist and autonomous vehicle technologies are based on Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) or Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems that use radio frequency or laser signals, respectively. While reliable and real-time information on vehicle speeds is critical for traffic operations management and autonomous vehicles safety, RADAR or LiDAR systems have some deficiencies especially in curved road scenarios where the incidence angle is rapidly varying. In this paper, we propose a novel speed estimation system so-called the Visible Light Detection and Ranging (ViLDAR) that builds upon sensing visible light variation of the vehicle's headlamp. We determine the accuracy of the proposed speed estimator in straight and curved road scenarios. We further present how the algorithm design parameters and the channel noise level affect the speed estimation accuracy. For wide incidence angles, the simulation results show that the ViLDAR outperforms RADAR/LiDAR systems in both straight and curved road scenarios. A provisional patent (US#62/541,913) has been obtained for this work

Optical MIMO-OFDM with Generalized LED Index Modulation

Due to copyright restrictions, the access to the full text of this article is only available via subscription.Visible light communications (VLC) is a promising and uncharted new technology for the next generation of wireless communication systems. This paper proposes a novel generalized light emitting diode (LED) index modulation method for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based VLC systems. The proposed scheme avoids the typical spectrum efficiency losses incurred by time- and frequency-domain shaping in OFDM signals. This is achieved by exploiting spatial multiplexing along with LED index modulation. Accordingly, real and imaginary components of the complex time-domain OFDM signals are separated first, then resulting bipolar signals are transmitted over a VLC channel by encoding sign information in LED indexes. As a benchmark, we demonstrate the performance analysis of our proposed system for both analytical and physical channel models. Furthermore, two novel receiver designs are proposed. Each one is suitable for frequency-flat or selective channel scenarios. It has been shown via extensive computer simulations that the proposed scheme achieves considerably better bit error ratio versus signal-to-noise-ratio performance than the existing VLC-MIMO-OFDM systems that use the same number of transmit and receive units [LEDs and photo diodes (PDs)]. Compared with the single-input single-output (SISO) DC biased optical (DCO)-OFDM system, both spectral efficiency and DC bias can be doubled and removed respectively simply by exploiting a MIMO configuration.European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST); The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) Research; EPSRC under Established Career Fellowshi

IEEE 802.11bb reference channel models for indoor environments

This contribution proposes 802.11bb reference channel models for indoor environments

Visible light channel modeling for gas pipelines

In this paper, we explore the use of visible light communication as a means of wireless monitoring in gas pipelines. In an effort to shed light on the communication limits in the presence of gas, we create a three-dimensional simulation platform where the pipeline size/shape, the reflection characteristics of the interior coating, gas specifications (i.e., temperature, density, refractive index, transmittance, etc.) and the specifications of the light sources and detectors (i.e., field of view, lighting pattern, etc.) are precisely defined. Based on ray tracing, we obtain channel impulse responses within the gas pipeline considering the deployment of different colored LEDs with various viewing angles. We further investigate the maximum achievable link range to ensure a given bit error rate.NPRP award under the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation)Publisher versio

Wireless Sensing using Vehicle Headlamps for Intelligent Transportation Systems: Proof of Concept

Vehicular communication and sensing technologies are mainly based on the conventional radio frequency (RF) or laser technologies. These systems suffer from several issues such as RF interference and poor performance in scenarios where the incidence angle between the speed detector and the vehicle is rapidly varying. Introducing a new sensing technology will add diversity to these systems and enhance the reliability of the real-time data. In this study, we investigate our speed estimation sensing system named “Visible Light Detection and Ranging (ViLDAR)”. ViLDAR utilizes visible light sensing technology to measure the variation of the vehicle's headlamp light intensity and estimate the vehicle speed. The measurement settings of the ViLDAR experiments are presented. The preliminary results obtained in the real-world environment/setting are promising when compared to the simulations. Additional measurements using the ViLDAR prototype will be conducted under different conditions and scenarios to further optimize the system

Effect of Wiring and Cabling Topologies on the Performance of Distributed MIMO OFDM VLC Systems

Since most indoor spaces have multiple luminaires for illumination, for visible light communication (VLC) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication emerges as a natural solution to improve the data rates and/or the link reliability. The existing works on MIMO VLC systems, however, overlook the characteristics of the lighting infrastructure and the luminaire design, which might have implications for the VLC system design. A luminaire typically consists of multiple LED chips. The wiring topology refers to how the LED chips are connected within the luminaire. The cabling topology, on the other hand, refers to how the luminaires are connected to the communication access point (AP). Based on the type and length of cabling and wiring, significant delays can be introduced, which should be taken into account in channel modeling. In this paper, we adopt the non-sequential ray tracing to model the distributed MIMO VLC channels for various practical wiring and cabling topologies. Based on the developed channel models, we provide a comparative performance analysis of repetition coding (RC), spatial multiplexing (SMUX), and spatial modulation (SMOD) MIMO modes. Our results quantify the effect of wiring/cabling delays and provide insights into the optimized design of lighting infrastructure and luminaires for the support of VLC as an add-on service...