Adaptive angle-oriented receiver-enhanced MIMO VLC system for platooning under curved road conditions

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Wireless Communication Systems
• Automotive Technology

Background:

• Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems face challenges in platoon-based vehicular communication on curved roads due to geometric misalignment and multi-vehicle interference.
• Existing VLC systems require robust solutions to maintain link integrity and signal quality under dynamic driving conditions on non-straight road segments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the performance of a platoon-oriented VLC system using a multi-input multi-output adaptive angle-oriented receiver (MIMO-AAOR) in curved-road scenarios.
• To develop a comprehensive model and evaluation framework for analyzing VLC link performance, considering geometric and interference factors on curved roads.
• To determine optimal configurations for receiver field of view (FoV) and platoon operating parameters for enhanced vehicular VLC.

Main Methods:

• A non-sequential ray-tracing model was established, integrating 3D vehicle/road geometry, LED radiation, and surface reflection properties.
• An end-to-end link evaluation framework was developed to estimate path loss and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) under curved-road conditions.
• Performance was evaluated by comparing the proposed MIMO-AAOR-VLC system against a single-photodiode VLC baseline (MIMO-PD-VLC) across various curve severities, platoon sizes, and speeds.

Main Results:

• An AAOR horizontal field of view (FoV) of approximately 20°-25° was found to effectively balance signal reception and interference suppression.
• The MIMO-AAOR-VLC system consistently outperformed the baseline, achieving a median SINR gain of 12-17 dB across different driving scenarios.
• Increased platoon size and cruising speed positively correlated with the performance advantage of the MIMO-AAOR-VLC system.

Conclusions:

• The proposed MIMO-AAOR-VLC system demonstrates robust intra-platoon interference suppression capabilities in dynamic curved-road driving environments.
• The study provides valuable theoretical guidance and practical engineering references for configuring vehicular VLC receiver FoV and optimizing platoon parameters.
• The findings support the deployment of advanced VLC systems for reliable vehicular communication on complex road geometries.