A

PAPER ON

D-LIGHT
-The future wireless communication based on visible light spectrum.

P.B.R.VISVODAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE,KAVALI,S.P.S.R.NELLORE(DST),PIN:524201.

Submitted by:

R.DEEPAK III/IV B.Tech, 10731A0488, deepak.richi@gmail.com PH:8374272526

P.SAI JAWAHAR

III/IV B.Tech,

10731A0470, saijawahar@hotmail.com PH:8125633176

Abstra ct White LEDs are set to penetrate many areas of everyday life. An interesting property of these devices (in addition to their lightening capabilities) is that they can be utilized for data transmission. In the past, primarily OOK (on-off keying) has been used for digital data modulation of such devices. OOK imposes limitations on the achievable data rates. Visible Light Communication uses light emitting diodes (LEDs), for the dual role of illumination and data transmission. Using the visible light spectrum, which is free and less crowded than other frequencies, wireless services can be piggy-backed over existing lighting installations. With this leading edge technology, data including video and audio, internet traffic, etc, can be transmitted at high speeds using LED light. In addition, where security of local communication is important eg defense and finance applications, D-Light technology offer a secure medium for communication in an office/building environment Keywor ds White LEDs, Low-voltage lines, On-Off Keying, Green VLC, LVX I. Introduction In the 21th century, high speed data transmission will play an important role in our daily life. Multimedia information is envisaged to be available at any place and at any time. Wireless networks constitute a key element to achieving these goals. However, radio frequency bandwidth at frequency ranges which allow reasonable spatial coverage is a limiting factor. Therefore, alternative wireless transmission means have to be explored. Visible light communication using white LEDs offers the potential for such alternative. The main reasons are as follows: White LEDs are currently penetrating many areas of our everyday life. They are envisaged to replace high energy consuming light bulbs in private and business homes and even in street lamps. Moreover, they can be used in headlights of planes and trains, front and back lights in cars and trains, and for object illumination in museums, etc. Bandwidth is not limited. Existing local power line infrastructure can potentially be utilized. Transmitters and receivers devices are cheap, and there is no need for expensive RF units. As lightwaves do not penetrated opaque objects, they cannot be eavesdropped. It is very difficult for an intruder to (covertly) pick up the signal from outside the room. Visible light radiations are undoubtedly free of any health concerns. II. What is VLC ? VLC (Visible light communication) involves two-way

communication using the medium of light. Photons, which can be seen by the human eye, carry an embedded signal, which is unseen. This 'signal within a signal' is the foundation of LVX's patent protected technology and separates LVX technology from other one-way lighting technologies which do not both communicate and provide visible light. A significant attribute of LEDs is their ability to switch on and off thousands of times per second. No other lighting technology has this capability. This switching occurs at ultra-high speeds, so far beyond what the human eye can detect, that the light appears to be constantly on. Amazingly, the technology can transmit a signal even when the light appears off. These embedded signals are emitted from the LEDs in the form of binary code; 'off' equals zero and 'on' equals one. When LVX equipment and devices are placed throughout a building of geographical area, a comprehensive wireless communication network can be created. A. How LEDs Work? Light Emitting Diodes are lights that are used extensively in electronic devices, consumer products and equipment. Their uses vary from signaling, signage and illumination. They are preferred over other illuminating technologies because of their small size, versatility, longevity, and most importantly because of their high energy efficiency. Recent advances in semiconducting material science and manufacturing techniques have positioned LED technology to be the preferred choice for general indoor and outdoor lighting applications. while the development of Light Emitting Diodes has evolved steadily throughout the past few decades, the science of LEDs is fundamentally the same. A diode produces light on an atomic level when electrons jump from a higher to a lower state (quantum jump). Certain semiconducting materials facilitate this phenomenon when low voltage electrical current passes through them. In order for this to happen, two different semiconducting materials are bonded together. One is negatively charged while the other is positively charged. An electrical current induces the electrons to jump from the negatively charged material to the positively charged material. Subatomic particles in the form of photons are released in this movement. Photons are perceived as light. Through research and experimentation, engineers and scientists have developed a variety of LED lighting solutions for many different applications. LEDs can produce many intensities of light-output and any color within the visible light spectrum. Today, the improvements and color quality of LEDs can be utilized in general illumination solutions for buildings and roadways. LEDs are fundamentally different from other lighting technologies. Fluorescent and incandescent technologies use heat to produce light. LEDs do not. They produce very little heat. In fact, the lighting industry refers to them as cool lights and recognizes them as the most sustainable

lighting technology today. They are significantly more energy efficient than incandescent lights and do not contain any of the hazardous materials such as mercury, that other lights Homes are connected to electric grid by low-voltage lines (LV). Low Voltage lines are distributed to each power plug in every room in a house. More than 99 percent of homes in the United States have access to electricity, whereas connectivity level is far less for cable and phone lines. Thus, a combination of MV and LV power lines can be an appropriate candidate for providing broadband access to every home in the country. The characteristics of LV power lines are very well known, and there are a variety of research activities in this area to exploit different features of LV grids. Indoor wireless connectivity is always appealing to consumers because of its ease of use. One of the conventional wireless access systems is Wi-Fi. But these systems and similar other wireless schemes suffer from many shortages, including interference, not being able to provide quality of service (QoS), adequate coverage and most importantly, security. A better alternative for high-speed wireless home networking, delivering voice/video/data (Triple Play) is to use optical wireless, indoors. Use of conventional lasers for optical indoor communications has not been feasible as yet because of the high cost of laser sources. Instead of lasers, LEDs can be used as communications transmitters connected to electric grid, receiving high-bit-rate signals via BPL.

Fig. 1: Visible Light Communications Using Visible Light LEDs Recently, WHITE LEDs emerged in the market and are considered as future lamps. Apparently, in the near future, the low cost, efficient and miniature WHITE LEDs will replace the incandescent and fluorescent lamps. Researchers pledge that by 2012, these devices will reach seven watts and 1000 luminescence. This is brighter than a 60-watt bulb, yet draws a current provided by four D-size batteries. A Japanese research team suggested using the same WHITE LEDs not only for lighting the homes but also as light sources for wireless in-house communications. Using this new and developing technology along with MV-LVpower-lines communications can create a revolution in the area of consumer networking because of its efficiency and affordability. Therefore, in future, you turn on the lights for indoor low-cost lighting and you receive broadband via the same through modulated WHITE LED light.

B. Visible Light Communication System Visible Light Communication system are presently being developed by scientists seeking to create ultra high-speed, high security, biologically friendly communications networks that allow the creation and expansion of seamless computing applications using very large bandwidth high-frequency pulsed light instead of radio waves and microwaves. Such systems use modulated light wavelengths emitted (and received) by a variety of suitably adapted standard sources, such as indoor and outdoor lighting, displays, illuminated signs, televisions, computer screens, digital cameras and digital cameras on mobile phones for communication purposes, primarily through the use of white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Their use may help provide both partial and full solutions to a number of technological problems: increasingly limited availability of conventional bandwidths for electronic equipment; possible communications interference with sensitive electrical equipment; data security; and perceived negative health consequences when exposed to raised radiofrequency and microwave levels. III. LED (Light Emitting Diode) VLC TECHNOLOGY LED (Light Emitting Diode) Visible Light Communications (VLC) systems are recognized as creating a possible valuable addition to future generations of technology, which have the potential to utilize light for the purposes of advanced technological communication at ultra high speed surpassing that of current wireless systems. One of the goals of researchers is to allow 100 megabits of data transference per second (Mbps) in offices and homes by modulation of light from upgraded lighting systems. If it is developed correctly, the possibility exists that many of the problems associated with present day infrared, radiowave and microwave communications systems (and lighting technology) could be at least partially resolved, and a more biologically friendly system made available to industries and the general public. A further advantage is that VLC systems can transmit data more securely over short distances than radiofrequency/microwave communications devices whose signals can be easily detected outside the rooms and buildings they originate in. A. Visible Light White LEDs Communication using

Fig. 2: Possible future deployment scenario

In the 21th century, a wide variety of multimedia services will be available at any place, and at any time. For this reason the demand for broadband wireless data transmission is increasing. Radio and optical wireless transmissions are both possible candidates to realize such wireless systems. However, for radio frequency transmission, the availability of free radio frequency resources is becoming a limiting factor. Therefore, alternative wireless transmission means have to be explored. Visible light communication utilizing white light emitting diodes (LEDs) is a potential alternative to realize such high speed wireless links. However, only little research has been done in this area, and many open questions exist. The optical channel is a challenging medium and there are numerous considerations which must be taken into account when designing high speed indoor optical wireless links. Non-directed line-of-sight (LOS) and diffuse links are accompanied with a high optical path loss and multipath propagation. Multipath propagation results in multipath dispersion giving rise to inter-symbol interference (ISI), which is one of the primary impairments to achieving high speed communication. In addition to this, wireless optical communication links must be capable of operating in environments where intense ambient light levels exist, which degrades link performance. Finally, all these factors must be overcome without breaching eye safety regulations, which place limitations on the maximum optical transmit power which can be used. The research project will investigate the properties of white LEDs when they are used as optical transmitters and examine new optical wireless transmission techniques to overcome existing problems. B. Visible Light Communications opportunity equals 10,000 ! The answer to life, the universe and everything might be 42, but I will use some pseudo mathematics to show that the VLC opportunity equates to 10,000! 1. There are approximately 1.4 million cellular base station masts worldwide (Masts).

wireless communications extends up to about 40GHz. So: 3. Wireless radio bandwidth ~ 40GHz (Radio) Now consider the visible light spectrum which extends from

2. There are approximately 14 billion light bulbs in the world (Bulbs). Each light bulb represents a future opportunity to introduce VLC technology and turn each light bulb into a miniature base stations (no mast required). I therefore suggest that the VLC opportunity (VLC) can be calculated as:

Now lets consider the opportunity from another dimension, that of the available spectrum. Wireless radio transmission uses frequencies from a few kHz up to 10s of GHz. If we dont consider fixed satellite links as wireless (no mobility) then

400THz to 790THz. So: Visible bandwidth ~ (790-400)THz = 390THz (Visible) Therefore the VLC opportunity in terms of available bandwidth can be calculated as: So the opportunity of using VLC can be considered to be four orders of magnitude greater than alternatives when measured in terms of access points relative to cellular access points, or when measured in terms of the available bandwidth relative to radio. Of course the key message is not really that VLC=10,000, it is that the opportunity for VLC is immense, but the real challenge may lie in making VLC access points 10,000 times cheaper than a cellular base station. However, if you consider that the average cellular base station might cost $10,000, this challenge does look realistic. C. How Green is Visible Light Communications? To address VLCs green credentials I first consider what makes it green. Here are my top 3 reasons: 1. VLC helps stimulate the demand for LED lighting and white LED bulbs and fixtures are now highly efficient. If we were all to switch over to LED illumination the energy savings would be colossal. 2. The power consumed by VLC in transmitting data is small compared to RF communications equipment. 3. VLC eliminates the need for some items of communications equipment, this too reduces the energy required to produce the communications equipment. So having considered why VLC is green from a qualitative point we are left with the trickier task of determining how white it could be based on a quantitative analysis. To do this we must make a few assumptions and then calculate the savings in green house gasses (based on CO2 emissions) resulting from a switch to VLC solutions. We will make the assumption that white LED VLC technology will be used in place of incandescent lamps and Wi-Fi, we will also assume that the savings in energy will savings will be obtained generating less electricity from fossil fuels. From the qualitative analysis we can identify three areas where energy can be saved. 1. Operational energy savings by using white LED compared with incandescent. 2. Operational energy savings by using VLC instead of WiFi 3. Embodied energy savings by manufacturing white LED VLC lamps instead of incandescent light bulbs and Wi-Fi access points. I have calculated the operational energy of a typical white LED lamp as 18kWhr per year based on a duty cycle of 4 hours per day. The energy used in a Wi-Fi per year is 53kWhr as compared to 3kWhr of additional energy required for VLC over and above the energy required for illumination. The embodied energy per year in a Wi-Fi (based on an average lifetime of 3 years) is 16kWhr. While the embodied energy in a VLC light bulb and transceiver circuit has been estimated at 1.0kWhr (based on a lifetime of 10 years). The embodied energy in an incandescent bulb is 0.4kWhr based on 0.8 year lifetime. Given that there are 14 billion incandescent light bulbs and 300 million Wi-Fis, replacing all of these by VLC lamps would save about 897 billion kWhr of energy.

This is laid out in the table below:

Annual Energy
Incandescent bulb Wi-Fi 89.3 kWhr 53 kWhr 21 kWhr

Embodied Energy 0.4 kWhr

Volume

Total Energy 1226 b kWhr 21 b kWhr 308 b kWhr

14 billion

will require cooperation and agreement from a number of different bodies. However, success should bring a low-cost high data-rate infrastructure that can increase wireless capacity substantially. In applications where a visible beam is desirable for security it can provide high data rates. There are a number of technical and regulatory challenges to be overcome; rapid technical progress is being made, but the challenges of standardization

16 kWhr

300 million

VLC

1.0 kWhr

14 billion

Total Savings

897 b kWhr

This is equivalent to a reduction of 870 million tonnes of CO 2 per year if less fossil fuel is used to generate the electricity. Alternatively we can consider the savings in terms of nuclear power stations. A modern nuclear power plant generates about 8-10 TWhr of electricity per year. So the saving is equivalent to eliminating the need for 100 nuclear power stations! IV. VLC Applications A wide range of applications would benefit from using white LEDs Visible Light Communications: 1. WiFi Spectrum Relief - Providing additional bandwidth in environments where licensed and/or unlicensed communication bands are congested 2. Smart Home Network Enabling smart domestic/industrial lighting; home wireless communication including media streaming and internet access 3. Commercial Aviation Enabling wireless data communications such as in-flight entertainment and personal communications 4. Hazardous Environments- Enabling data communications in environments where RF is potentially dangerous, such as oil & gas, petrochemicals and mining 5. Hospital and Healthcare Enabling mobility and data communications in hospitals 6. Defence and Military Applications Enabling high data rate wireless communications within military vehicles and aircraft 7. Corporate and Organisational Security Enabling the use of wireless networks in applications where (WiFi) presents a security risk 8. Underwater Communications Enabling communications between divers and/or remote operated vehicles 9. Location-Based Services Enabling navigation and tracking inside buildings. V. Conclusion VLC based on white LEDs appears to be an important potential component in expanding useable bandwidth, protecting sensitive electrical equipment and data, creating more biologically friendly communications technology, and helping develop seamless computing applications. VLC offers the advantage of a communications channel in an unregulated, unlicensed part of the electromagnetic spectrum.