Experimental Demonstration of a 188 meters Infrastructure-to-Vehicle Visible Light Communications Link in Outdoor Conditions

Abstract

Wireless communication technologies have the potential to significantly contribute toward a safer and more efficient road network. In this area, Visible Light Communications (VLC) are on the way of making the transition from an emerging technology to a confirmed technology. In the upper mentioned context, this paper presents the results of an experimental demonstration of Infrastructure-to- Vehicle VLC link in outdoor conditions. For these field tests, a commercial traffic light has been used as a VLC emitter, whereas a photodiode-based VLC receiver has been used to transform the optical beam into an electrical signal. The experimental results demonstrate a communication range of up to 188 meters at a BER of 10–3, with BERs as low as 10–6 for distances below 170 meters. As far as we know, this is the longest I2V VLC link based on standard road side unit equipment reported. Thus, the 188 m I2V VLC link delivered in this paper provides extremely encouraging evidence concerning the use of the VLC technology in automotive applications.