Visible Light Based Throughput Downlink Connectivity for the Cognitive Radio Networks

Abstract

The research and implementation of Internet of things (IoT) concept have proliferated ever since the cognitive radio (CR) dimension was introduced. Nevertheless the status quo of the congested communication landscape imposes a great challenge on the connectivity of a raft of heterogeneous devices, which arguably defeats the purpose of IoT. New protocols that improve the CR networks’ downlink connectivity are thus being spawned. Visible light communication (VLC), widely seen as the most promising candidate, wants the talk among things to go not just via radio. Based upon VLC technique, a downlink connectivity improvement paradigm, namely, visible light (VL) based throughput downlink connectivity for the CR networks (\( {\text{CR}}_{downlink}^{VL} \))is proposed in this chapter. We first motivate the use of VLC technology in IoT communications from various viewpoints, including background, radio spectrum management, and complementary VL perspectives. Then, a systematic overview of VLC and the associated physical- and link-layer characteristics are briefly discussed. After that, a \( {\text{CR}}_{downlink}^{VL} \) communication architecture for smart home environment is presented. Finally the outlined challenges and possible future research avenues close this chapter.