Visible Light Communication and localization: A study on tracking solutions for Industry 4.0 and the Operator 4.0

Abstract

The article presents a study on tracking solutions based on localization and telecommunication technologies in Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments oriented on Operator 4.0. Nowadays, the smart industry concept is mainly a technology-driven solution, which is slowly shifting towards a value-driven approach. This value is based on human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience. In this article, we take a look at human-centricity. Important breakthroughs in communication and localization technologies enabled the deployment of multiple digital, networking or smart technologies in an industrial environment. Smart manufacturing systems are typically based on network-enabled smart sensors/actuators, data acquisition and analytics, and intelligent computational algorithms via human-cyber–physical systems that rely on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Moreover, interactions between humans and intelligent machines in smart factories or enterprises are also an important part of next-gen manufacturing processes. Wireless telecommunication and localization technologies are still expanding, but their deployment can have significant issues in industrial complexes due to electromagnetic interference. This interference can directly affect production or communication devices. This disadvantage can be solved by the Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology described in this article. Indoor localization and tracking are very important for human-centric technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, cooperative robotics, and others. These technologies, which help operators with human–machine interaction and human-in-the-loop control, need precise and fast localization. Visible Light Positioning (VLP) could provide the answer.