Using advertisement light-panel and CMOS image sensor with frequency-shift-keying for visible light communication.

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Wireless Communication
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Visible light communication (VLC) offers a promising alternative for high-bandwidth wireless data transmission.
• Existing VLC systems often require dedicated receivers, limiting their practical application.
• Advertisement light panels present an underutilized opportunity as potential transmitters in VLC systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a frequency-shift-keying (FSK) VLC system utilizing readily available hardware.
• To leverage mobile phone image sensors as receivers for VLC signals.
• To evaluate the system's performance under varying conditions, including low contrast advertisements.

Main Methods:

• Developed a VLC system transmitting data using FSK modulation via an advertisement light panel.
• Utilized a mobile application (APP) to capture and process the rolling shutter effect (RSE) patterns generated by the FSK VLC signal.
• Defined and employed a noise-ratio value (NRV) metric to quantify the contrast of displayed advertisements and assess its impact on system performance.

Main Results:

• The developed mobile APP successfully retrieved the RSE patterns from the FSK VLC signal.
• The system demonstrated a high success rate exceeding 96% for data retrieval.
• Effective communication was achieved even at transmission distances of up to 200 cm and with low NRVs (low contrast advertisements).

Conclusions:

• A functional FSK-VLC system was successfully demonstrated using an advertisement light panel and a mobile phone image sensor.
• The rolling shutter effect (RSE) is an effective mechanism for retrieving VLC signals with mobile phone cameras.
• The proposed system shows robustness and potential for practical implementation in diverse environments, even with challenging display contrasts.