Workshop on Visible Light Communications and Networking (VLCN)

For 5G networks should offer extremely high capacity in the same coverage area. Most promising approaches are to embed large numbers of small cells into the macro-cell coverage area. Therefore, it is proposed to use optical wireless as an alternative physical layer in which these techniques can be implemented more easily and equivalently tested also at high data rates - recent experiments demonstrated up to 1 Tbit/s for optical wireless backhaul links at 1550 nm and up to 5 Gbit/s in access links using visible light communications (VLC). VLC is an emerging technology for future high capacity communication links (it has been accepted to 5GPP) in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum (~370 - 780 nm) utilizing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to simultaneously provide data transmission and room illumination. A major challenge in VLC is the LED modulation bandwidths, which are limited to a few MHz. However, gigabit speed transmission links have already been demonstrated. Optical wireless works with NLOS it is resistant to background noise and adapts the throughput according to the current channel condition. Concurrently, organic LEDs (OLEDs) have been the focus of enormous attention for solid-state lighting applications due to their advantages over conventional LEDs such as ultra-low costs, mechanical flexibility and large photoactive areas. As a result, researchers are starting to investigate the performance of OLEDs in VLC systems, which is a very challenging research area, as OLED bandwidths can be approximately three orders of magnitude lower than their LED counterparts. Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) team works on development of such VLC links to drive both LEDs and OLEDs in order to implement broadcasting networks featuring advanced modulation formats such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or carrier- less amplitude and phase modulation (CAP) and advanced equalization techniques. Keynote will summarize all reached results both from CTU team as well as joint research activities within European project ICT COST IC1101 OPTICWISE (Optical Wireless Communications - An Emerging Technology) dealing VLC and OLED towards 5G networks.

The recent technology developments of common LED devices is making available illumination chips that are small, cheap and effective. They can also be turned into wireless data transmitters, for a wide range of applications. This area is experiencing an exponentially growing interest and can indeed find various and very different applications. Among them, we can have indoor high speed (>1Gbit/s) data communication, lower-speed communication in harsh environments, vehicular communications and submarine wireless links. We review the most recent achievements in these areas and illustrate different case-studies with corresponding problems and possible solutions.

The Panel will discuss and summarise the main technical conclusions and challenges of the workshop as well as any potential future plans (e.g. ICC'16)