Software-centric VLC networking for the IoT

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) requires a communication Infrastructure built from simple components to allow connecting a wide range of devices. Visible Light Communication (VLC) based on Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for light emission and reception provides an attractive and economical communication platform as many aspects of networking can be handled in software. We present a software-centric approach that supports networking for a wide range of nodes - nodes that include only simple single LEDs (such as wearables, toys, or consumer electronics) as well as nodes with LED light bulbs that run Linux and provide a VLC communication infrastructure. One of the benefits of the software-centric approach is easy integration into distributed applications - a necessary condition for a pervasive communication infrastructure for the IoT that requires a wide range of services such as time, localization, or authentication.