A Comparative Survey of Optical Wireless Technologies: Architectures and Applications

Communications based solely on radio frequency (RF) networks cannot provide adequate quality of service for the rapidly growing demands of wireless connectivity. Since devices operating in the optical spectrum do not interfere with those using the RF spectrum, wireless networks based on the optical spectrum can be added to existing RF networks to fulfill this demand. Hence, optical wireless communication (OWC) technology can be an excellent complement to RF-based technology to provide improved service. Promising OWC systems include light fidelity (LiFi), visible light communication, optical camera communication (OCC), and free-space optical communication (FSOC). OWC and RF systems have differing limitations, and the integration of RF and optical wireless networks can overcome the limitations of both systems. This paper describes an LiFi/femtocell hybrid network system for indoor environments. Low signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios and the shortage bandwidth problems of existing RF femtocell networks can be overcome with the proposed hybrid model. Moreover, we describe an integrated RF/optical wireless system that can be employed for users inside a vehicle, remote monitoring of ambulance patients, vehicle tracking, and vehicle-to-vehicle communications. We consider LiFi, OCC, and FSOC as the optical wireless technologies to be used for communication support in transportation, and assume macrocells, femtocells, and wireless fidelity to be the corresponding RF technologies. We describe handover management-including detailed call flow, interference management, link reliability improvement, and group handover provisioning-for integrated networks. Performance analyses demonstrate the significance of the proposed integrated RF/optical wireless systems.

New, emerging technologies, transform every day our life and have direct consequence on our health and well-being. More and more wearable medical devices (MD) with wireless communication technologies embedded are being developed by innovative academic community and companies. Optical wireless communication (OWC) consisting of Visible Light Communication (VLC), infrared (IR), Optical Camera Communication (OCC) and Light Fidelity (LiFi) along with the conventional Radio Frequency (RF) wireless communication are suitable technologies to be used for hybrid Wireless Integrated Medical Assistance Systems (WIMAS). The WIMAS addressed in this paper consists of two Wireless Medical Body Area Networks (WMBAN) (an insulin wearable kit and an ECG test device with VLC/OCC are considered) and an Emergency Remote Medical Assistance (ERMA) with LiFi technology embedded. Using RF in medical facilities is subject of strict regulations due to interferences with other RF medical devices, negative effects on human health and lack of security. VLC and OCC are suitable to be embedded in MDs in order to be used by the patients with wearable WMBAN. Research on IR transdermal communication for implantable MDs has also been demonstrated as feasible and both VLC and OCC have promising future, as well. On the other hand, LiFi technology, recently deployed on the market, is mature enough to be integrated in the ERMA system addressed here.

New high data rate multimedia services and applications are evolving continuously and exponentially increasing the demand for wireless capacity of fifth generation (5G) and beyond. Radio Frequency (RF), which was the most used form of communication, cannot satisfy the need for 6G. Optical wireless communication (OWC), which uses an ultra-wide range of unregulated spectrum, has emerged as a promising solution to overcome the RF spectrum crisis. The few important and common issues related to the service quality of 5G and 6G communication systems come with great capacity, massive connectivity, low reliable latency, high security, low-energy consumption, high quality of experience, and reliable connectivity. Of course, 6G communication will provide several-fold improved performances compared to the 5G communication regarding these issues. This chapter will represent how OWC technologies, such as visible light communication, light fidelity, optical camera communication, and free space optics communication will be an effective solution for successful deployment of 6G.KeywordsOptical Wireless Communication6G CommunicationVisible Light Communication

Mobile wireless communications mainly rely on radio frequency to transmit data. However, its congested spectrum cannot meet the growing requirements for future high data rate applications. Recently, optical wireless communication techniques have opened up a vast optical spectrum and emerged as a cost-effective and practical alternative to congested radio frequency wireless technologies. As a supplementary technique of high-speed optical wireless communication, optical camera communication has become very attractive due to recent developments in communications hinging on camera or image sensors in smart devices with low implementation complexity. In conjunction with its ubiquity in consumer electronics such as pads and smartphones, optical camera communication takes advantage of an image sensor or camera in areas such as intelligent transportation, vehicular communication, motion capture, indoor localization, and the Internet of Things. Optical camera communication and visible light communication are considered in IEEE 802.15.7m standardization. Optical camera communication based on camera and organic/inorganic light emitting diodes offers localization and low-rate transmission in indoor as well as outdoor applications. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of optical camera communication, principles, and recent standardization activities. This survey covers multiple aspects of optical camera communication such as transceivers, multiple-input and multiple-output, and diversity. It outlines various applications of optical camera communication. It also addresses some practical constraints, modulation schemes, and error correction coding techniques for optical camera communication systems. Finally, in the last section of this survey, potential challenges and future research directions are presented.

Optical wireless communication (OWC) is one of the promising candidates for beyond fifth-generation communication (B5G). Depending on the type of transmitters, receivers, and information carriers applied in the system, OWC can be categorized into visible light communication, light fidelity, free-space optical communication, optical camera communication, etc. In addition to these OWC subcategories, this paper proposes light-emitting diode (LED)-to-LED communication as another subcategory of OWC technique. Furthermore, we show an experimental demonstration of the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) LED-to-LED communication system using red, green, and blue colored LEDs. We believe that LED-to-LED communication is an effective solution to resolve the communication burden arising from massive connectivity in B5G internet of things. Along with the measurement results of the transmitter LED, receiver LED, and the channel properties, it is shown that the MIMO LED-to-LED system is able to successfully recover the transmitted signal with low inter-channel interferences due to the receiver LED’s unique characteristics. Finally, the bit error rate (BER) performance of the MIMO LED-to-LED system is shown in comparison with the BER performance of the single-input single-output (SISO) LED-to-LED system. We successfully implemented the 3 × 3 MIMO LED-to-LED communication system using RGB colors at a data rate of 30.62 kbps over a 10 cm transmission distance along with direct current biased optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DCO-OFDM) modulation and zero-forcing (ZF) equalizer.

The requirements in terms of service quality such as data rate, latency, power consumption, number of connectivity of future fifth-generation (5G) communication is very high. Moreover, in Internet of Things (IoT) requires massive connectivity. Optical wireless communication (OWC) technologies such as visible light communication, light fidelity, optical camera communication, and free space optical communication can effectively serve for the successful deployment of 5G and IoT. This paper clearly presents the contributions of OWC networks for 5G and IoT solutions.

The demand for mobile data communication is escalating, particularly at lower radio frequencies, exacerbating the spectrum crisis due to rapid growth. To address the need for ultra-high data rate mobile communications, utilizing high frequencies such as millimeter waves becomes imperative to tap into spectrum resources effectively. In mobile platform interconnections, the conventional standard of Free Space Optics (FSO) usage presents numerous intriguing challenges within FSO setups, amplifying the complexity of establishing links between mobile platforms. The paper examines barriers within mobile communications, particularly focusing on the connections between platforms and fixed Free Space Optics (FSO) communications. It delves into several key challenges, such as alignment and monitoring issues, investigating the influence of weather on connectivity, and ensuring seamless communication for reliable connections. The feasibility of these connections is also explored as part of the study.In commercial, academic, and military sectors, there’s a continual drive for advancements in system designs, particularly in fiber optic telecommunication. Leveraging Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technology from various fields, the focus remains on enhancing data rates and utilizing modulation patterns within standard designs. To address existing limitations, this paper presents a novel approach centered around mobile terminals. It introduces an analytical framework tailored for mobile Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) networks, which encompasses capturing channel characteristics. Notably, the downlink utilizes visible light technology, while the uplink relies on infrared light transmission. The communication protocol we’re developing is multi-technological and operates across multiple layers of networking. However, this presents several challenges, particularly in supporting user mobility. One of the innovative technologies we’re exploring is Optical Camera Communication (OCC).Our proposal involves conducting experimental validations to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of OCC. This includes testing its performance in various scenarios such as sea-mobile connections, land mobile connections, and satellite downlinks.In multi-hop wireless networks, the utilization of Free-Space Optical (FSO) communication technology is imperative. Our approach involves employing FSO widely within these networks. The broader significance of our work lies in its potential to revolutionize Optical Wireless Communication (OWC). However, it’s crucial to note that FSO technology exhibits position sensitivity and may not be suitable for ultra-high throughput mobile communications.In industrial manufacturing settings, there is a growing interest in utilizing Optical Wireless Communication (OWC). As this interest expands, it becomes crucial to address challenging requirements such as reliability and low latency in application. Among the factors influencing this, the correlation coefficient is determined through the use of GRA (Grey Relational Analysis). Additionally, factors impacting food security are being studied, with a focus on a layered and multi-hierarchical architecture, where ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) frequencies are employed for installation purposes. Infant formula and milk disinfection data in China were analyzed using the GRA-ISM method, incorporating hierarchical analysis. This classical approach expands the utility of the GRA method to new applications. Additionally, the proposed method was illustrated using a case study on Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) for site selection. Furthermore, the proposed method was applied to assess the quality of pasteurized milk and to conduct risk assessment, demonstrating the effectiveness of the GRA-HMM method in achieving high accuracy in risk assessment results.Ubiquity Design is got the first rank whereas is the Flexibility is having the Lowest rank. Keywords: Ubiquity, Flexibility, Accessibility, High Bandwidth and Low Attenuation.

The upcoming fifth- and sixth-generation (5G and 6G, respectively) communication systems are expected to deal with enormous advances compared to the existing fourth-generation communication system. The few important and common issues related to the service quality of 5G and 6G communication systems are high capacity, massive connectivity, low latency, high security, low-energy consumption, high quality of experience, and reliable connectivity. Of course, 6G communication will provide several-fold improved performances compared to the 5G communication regarding these issues. The Internet of Things (IoT) based on the tactile internet will also be an essential part of 5G-and-beyond (5GB) (e.g., 5G and 6G) communication systems. Accordingly, 5GB wireless networks will face numerous challenges in supporting the extensive verities of heterogeneous traffic and in satisfying the mentioned service-quality-related parameters. Optical wireless communication (OWC), along with many other wireless technologies, is a promising candidate for serving the demands of 5GB communication systems. This review paper clearly presents how OWC technologies, such as visible light communication, light fidelity, optical camera communication, and free space optics communication, will be an effective solution for successful deployment of 5G/6G and IoT systems.

Nowadays, we are forced to face off, more than ever before, an exponential growth of tremendous quantities of data necessary to be local or remotely transferred within cabled or wireless communication networks. We present in this work a methodology used for a short survey and the main findings following queries in important scientific databases. As a result of this research in databases, a sort presentation of achievement related to data rates and optical link, are chronological presented. The Optical Wireless Communication (OWC), complementary to the classical wireless transmission technologies into the radiofrequency (RF) spectrum, consists of Visible Light Communication (VLC), Optical Camera Communication (OCC), Light Fidelity (LiFi), Free Space Optics (FSO) and Infrared (IR). All these technologies and applications are briefly described here with their key characteristics. Various implementations of OWC in different areas so far, as well as the challenges and achievements reached during the last decade of intensive research, are also addressed in this work.

Wireless communication based on optical spectrum has been a promising technology to support increasing bandwidth demand in the recent years. Light fidelity, optical camera communication, visible light communication, underwater optical wireless communication, free space optical communication are such technologies those have been already deployed to support the challenges in wireless communications. Those technologies create massive data traffic as lots of infrastructures and servers are connected with the internet. Software defined optical wireless networks have been introduced in this paper as a solution to this phenomenon. An architecture has been designed where we provide the general software defined networking (SDN) structure and describe the possible tasks which can be performed by the SDN for optical wireless communication.

Optical wireless communication (OWC) is an excellent complementary solution to its radio frequency (RF) counterpart. OWC technologies have been demonstrated to be able to support high traffic generated by massive connectivity of the Internet of Things (IoT) and upcoming 5 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">th</sup> generation (5G) wireless communication systems. As the characteristics of OWC and RF are complementary, a combined application is regarded as a promising approach to support 5G and beyond communication systems. Hybrid RF/optical and optical/optical wireless systems offer an excellent solution for recovering the limitations of individual systems as well as for providing positive features of each of the technologies. An RF/optical wireless hybrid system consists both RF and optical-based wireless technologies, whereas an optical/optical wireless hybrid system consists two or more types of OWC technologies. The co-deployment of wireless systems can improve system performance in terms of throughput, reliability, and energy efficiency of individual networks. This study surveys the state of the art and key research directions regarding optical wireless hybrid networks, being the first extensive survey dedicated to this topic. We provide a technology overview of existing literature on optical wireless hybrid networks, such as RF/optical and optical/optical systems. We consider the RF-based macrocell, small cell, wireless fidelity, and Bluetooth, as well as optical-based visible light communication, light fidelity, optical camera communication, and free-space optical communication technologies for different combinations of hybrid systems. Moreover, we consider underwater acoustic communication for hybrid acoustic/optical systems. The opportunities brought by hybrid systems are presented in detail. We outline important challenges that need to be addressed for successful deployment of optical wireless hybrid network systems for 5G and IoT paradigms.

The imminent 5G and 6G communication systems are projected to exhibit substantial advancements in comparison to the current 4G communication system. Several critical and prevalent concerns pertaining to the service quality of 5G and 6G communication systems encompass elevated capacity, extensive connectivity, minimal latency, robust security measures, energy efficiency, superior quality of user experience, and dependable connectivity. Undoubtedly, 6G communication is expected to offer markedly improved performance across these domains compared to 5G communication. The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) within the framework of the tactile internet is anticipated to be a fundamental component of advanced communication systems, encompassing both 5G and beyond (5GB), such as 5G and 6G. Consequently, 5GB wireless networks will encounter various challenges in accommodating diverse types of heterogeneous traffic and meeting the specified parameters related to service quality. Optical wireless communication (OWC), alongside various other wireless technologies, emerges as a promising candidate to fulfill the requisites of 5G communication systems. This comprehensive review articulates the efficacy of OWC technologies, including Visible Light Communication (VLC), Light Fidelity (LiFi), Optical Camera Communication (OCC), and Free Space Optics (FSO) Communication, as a viable solution for the successful deployment of 5G/6G and IoT systems.

As the existing radio-frequency (RF) networks cannot meet the ever-increasing data rate demand, the optical wireless communication (OWC), which uses a wide untapped unregulated spectrum, has been proposed as a promising technology to overcome the RF spectrum limitations. On the other hand, with the increasing demand for high data rate and the prevalence of the broadcast-nature networks, researchers have recently come up with new mechanisms to improve secure communication using physical layer techniques. Compared to RF networks, the OWC networks are more secure and less susceptible to the interception because of the small coverage provided by LEDs, and because they work properly only in the presence of the line-of-sight (LoS) components. However, the security in OWC networks is still an issue, especially in visible light communication (VLC) when the transmitted information can be accessed by multiple users as in public areas, meeting rooms, laboratories, and libraries. That means potential eavesdroppers may be existing to gather confidential messages. This paper reviews all the conducted work on physical layer security (PLS) in two types of OWC networks, which are the VLC and free space optical (FSO) networks. Furthermore, the paper proposes several open problems in these networks to optimize and enhance the security performance.

Both Visible Light Communication (VLC) and Optical Camera Communication (OCC), as technologies and applications of the Optical Wireless Communication (OWC), have been intensely investigated in recent years. Because of their advanced implementations prove to be reliable candidates as partners of the various wireless transmissions based on radio frequency waves, and in some special situations, principal actors for different wireless communication scenarios in particular situations such as the medical field, petrochemical industry or indoor spaces overcrowded where the radio frequency spectrum crunch becomes obvious. We analyze several indoor setups and unique situations that incur alleged security breaches and future challenges in secure VLC and OCC data communication. We also present here an investigation of topologies and transmission scenarios with influences on a secure, reliable wireless transmission system as well as vulnerabilities and threads in VLC and OCC networks. The optical properties of the visible light as a reliable communication medium are explored here, as well. Both VLC and OCC have their own benefits, as well as drawbacks, from the point of view of the overall security and performance, as well as the ability to keep the communication as a continuous operational, intact, and trusty service. An experiment conducted using low frame rate cameras in OCC shown the minimum distance between the centers of the LEDs that still allow an appropriate separation of the frames captured.

Important research efforts have been directed over the past ten years, towards exploring alternative parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that could potentially offload a large portion of the network traffic from the overcrowded radio frequency (RF) domain. Due to the latest improvements, the optical wireless communication (OWC) proves to be a viable alternative solution to the issues of forthcoming radio frequency RF spectrum crisis, especially in certain places and situations. Currently, most mobile data traffic is consumed indoor, where light fidelity (LiFi) which is related to visible light communication (VLC) offers lots of specific advantages, and effective solutions to the many issues of wireless communication. The current paper summarizes most of the research, developments and applications achieved so far and looks at the different aspects of the strengths and weaknesses, implementations, challenges, VLC IEEE standard and data modulation techniques of the VLC and specific LiFi's new coined optical wireless communication technology.